To Love a Monster
by AniDragon and TheLostZelda
Summary: When a lonely princess gets to see the softer side of a monster, what chaos could come as tempers flare and hearts ache? It isn't long before Amelia comes to realize just how close suffering and true happiness can get. Chapter 15 up!
1. Chapter 1: The Birthday Gift

_(Disclaimer: Slayers and all it's characters belong to Hajime Kanzaka and the publishers, not us. Fanfic idea belongs to AniDragon and TheLostZelda.)_

_(Warnings: Mild language)_

**To Love a Monster**** (part 1)**

**~The Birthday Gift~**

**by: AniDragon and TheLostZelda**

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Wandering through another nameless desert town, following the rumour of another Claire Bible Manuscript, Zelgadis found himself in a market place. With his face and hair concealed it was easy enough to manoeuvre around the busy shoppers, trying the find an inn as soon as possible to rest.

It was as he passed by a jewellery merchant that he saw it. It wasn't big, but it was too good to pass up: a small gold ring with a grove around it, and a spherical blue sapphire sitting on the top.

The resemblance to Amelia's bracelet was striking. He unconsciously moved a hand to his water flask where he had once kept it. He'd returned it to her when he'd gone back to Seyruun as her bodyguard, of course. When he'd left again after the battle with Shabranigdu, she hadn't passed it back to him. He took it as a sign that she trusted him to return, even without it.

_I've done a great job of that so far_, he thought to himself bitterly. It had been almost a year since he'd seen her. Perhaps he should visit once his business was done in this town. He ran a hand over the glass case where the ring was displayed. Would it be too forward for him to buy it for her as a gift?

It was simple and beautiful, just like her. The merchant caught his eyes and offered him a closer look. Upon inspection he could see a small five-point star in the center. It really was a perfect match.

"This ring was sold to me by a sorceress who had a knack for protection spells, or at least, that's what she said", The merchant told him, probably trying to inflate the price. Zelgadis cocked an eyebrow, and the merchant continued: "Because your interested, and I can't for the life of me tell if she was lying or not, I'll let you have it for the price of a normal ring, how does that sound?"

Zelgadis thought about it for a moment. If it _were _enchanted with a protection spell, it would be even better. He did sense a spell on it, though he couldn't tell what it was. He'd have to take it to a magic shop later to make sure it wasn't cursed or something.

"Sure, I'll take it," he agreed, dropping a small pouch of gold that he had earned while in Prince Phil's service.

"Excellent," smiled the merchant, handing over the ring, "If you ever come across the sorceress: a short, flat-chested girl with red hair, thank her for me."

Zelgadis sighed, and tried not to laugh, Naturally, it would have to be Lina. It was just like her to put an enchantment on something to get more money out of it.

Nearby, a strange, purple haired priest stood in the shadows, watching the transaction unfold. He chuckled, a plot hatching in his head: One that could lead to much chaos. With a smirk, he vanished.

~*~

Amelia sank onto her bed, exhausted after a day of festivities.

The Princess had just turned 18, and naturally Prince Phil and the rest of the court had decided that this was something to be celebrated. The past few weeks had been full of planning for the party, and the day itself had lasted from dawn to well after dusk.

_If I have to deal with another prince trying to court me, I'll go insane,_ she thought to herself.

"What a coincidence," A voice piped up from behind her, "Insanity is one of my favourite dishes!"

Amelia gave a small yelp and jumped off the bed, spinning around only to see Xellos hovering in the air just behind where she had been sitting.

"Xellos-san," She furrowed her brow, "How rude, to come into a lady's room unannounced! What are you doing here?"

"Oh, just taking a break from hounding our favourite little chimera," He said, off-handed, "And I couldn't pass up the offer of insanity."

Amelia blinked at the information, and felt a tug at her heart, "You've been following Zelgadis-san?"

"Naturally, since he's after the Claire Bible," Xellos answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"So you know what he's up to?" Amelia climbed back on the bed, approaching the grinning Mazoku, "Can you tell me?"

"That would be a secret," He answered, bringing a finger up to his lips.

"Ah," A heavy weight seemed to settle on the Princess, "I see..."

She sighed and lay back on the mound of pillows, her thoughts settling on the chimera. She'd be lying if she'd said that he hadn't been on her thoughts all day. Every time a new prince or noble came to introduce himself to her, she'd wish that it was Zelgadis there in his place. But no, he was off Cepheid-knows where, and hadn't even thought to write to her for her birthday.

"You've been thinking of him a lot, lately, ne?" Xellos asked, breaking her out of her thoughts.

Amelia jumped a bit at his voice. She'd almost forgotten that he was there.

_That's dangerous,_ she chided herself, _I shouldn't let my guard down around Xellos-san…_

He didn't seem very threatening just then, but she knew that that was when he was at his most dangerous. Although she supposed that if he did want her dead, there would be little that she could do to defend herself.

Maybe he'd sensed her loneliness and wanted to feed on it… Well, it was likely…

"If you're here for a meal, you can forget it!" Amelia put on a brave face, "You know that the light of justice burns brightly in my heart!"

"Is that so?" Xellos asked, opening one eye, "Despite your words, I don't sense much light in you right now. If anything, you seem downright depressed, Amelia-san."

She had to laugh at his words, though she did hear a ring of truth to them, "Depressed? Don't be ridiculous! I miss Zelgadis-san, I'll admit it, but I'm hardly depressed about it. I'm just tired."

There, that was believable, even to her. It had been a long week, and she really just wanted to sleep. Xellos was just trying to provoke her.

She got up off her bed and headed to the dressing screen in the corner of her room, "If you'll excuse me, Xellos-san, I need to change."

"Take your time," He said, though she still felt his presence in the room. Well, at least he still seemed to be in the same spot, and wasn't trying to peak or anything.

"If what you say is true," He continued as she changed, "Then why do I sense this sadness off of you?"

Amelia bit her lip at his words as she struggled out of her dress. She considered calling a maid in to help her. If nothing else, it would probably make the irritating Mazoku leave.

Or he might stay just to spite her… Better to just ask him directly, then, "Please just go away, Xellos-san!"

She heard him chuckle, "Getting a bit defensive, aren't we? Is that because you know I'm right?"

She flushed brightly, embarrassed at being so easy to read, "I… er…" she finally managed to slip out of her dress, and grabbed her pyjamas from the shelf where her maids had left them, "Well, that's not important!"

"Amelia-san," He said, then sighed in exasperation, "You know you're not fooling anyone, least of all me."

Amelia slipped the nightgown over her head and, after a quick check in the mirror to make sure she was decent, stepped out from behind the dressing screen, "So what of it? Why are you even here? Or was I right in that you were just looking for a meal?"

Xellos was still hovering just a few inches above her bed, his legs crossed, and his staff resting on his lap. The look on his face could only be described as devious.

But then again, didn't Xellos _always_ look devious?

"Of course you were right," He admitted, and then opened both eyes, sending shivers down her back, "Well, that, among other things."

Amelia brought her hands up to hug herself, rubbing the goose bumps off her arms nervously, "Other things? What do you mean? What do the Mazoku want with me?"

"Who said anything about the Mazoku?" He grinned, eyes closing once again right before he phased out, then reappeared standing right in front of her, "I came here with my own little plot."

Amelia leaned back a bit uncomfortably, but refused to back off due to stubborn bravery, "Which is?"

Xellos brought a finger up to his lips, "Ah, that would be…"

"A secret," She finished for him, rolling her eyes.

He laughed and patted her head, which made her take a tentative step back, "Good girl. But what I _will_ tell you is that this plot can easily become beneficial to you as well. You needn't worry yourself too much."

Those words made her frown, "How can I trust anything you say, Xellos-san?"

The corners of the Mazoku's mouth tugged downwards, and his eyebrows creased as he mirrored her frown, almost mockingly, "I'm hurt," He said, his tone clearly suggesting that he really wasn't, "You know that I never lie."

"But you do hide the truth," Amelia countered.

Xellos chuckled, "And knowing that about me, my dear, should make it easier for you to figure things out."

She sighed impatiently, tired of his games, "I know better than to make a deal with a Mazoku. Even if I benefit, someone else will probably suffer! At whose expense am I to gain?"

"No one's," He answered, then added slyly, "Depending on which scenario turns out, anyway… And really, I wouldn't even call this a deal. There's no contract. You aren't signing in blood. Think of this more as… entertainment."

"Just what are you…" Amelia didn't get to finish her sentence, as she was suddenly interrupted by Xellos leaning over and _kissing_ her.

Her eyes widened in shock, and she felt frozen in place as he pulled away and brought a finger up, "Leave everything to me."

In the blink of an eye, he disappeared, leaving Amelia standing dumbfounded and blushing in the middle of her bedroom. After a moment, the only response she could come up with for the situation at large was: "_What_?"

**~End of part 1~**

**(A/N: This fanfic is the result of too much pizza. No, really. We plotted most of this at the pizza place downtown. We even have an official "plotting booth". XD We hope you like the fic, and apologize if we break your brain with it.)**


	2. Chapter 2: Nothing to 'Wine' About

_(Warnings and Disclaimers same as previous chapter)_

**To Love a Monster**** (part 2)**

**~Nothing to 'Wine' About ~**

**by: AniDragon and TheLostZelda**

"Ah, that should be just right," Xellos mused, looking at the changes he'd made to the room. This should give him just enough time to prepare. With a grin, he vanished.

Seconds later, Zelgadis entered the flame lit chamber. In the middle of the room, there was a blank pedestal. Right behind that, there was a mirror.

He walked up to the mirror, and realized with a start that it wasn't reflecting the room itself, but it's equivalent on the Astral Plane. On the reflection of the pedestal, sat a piece of paper that he could just barely read.

"Come back tomorrow?" He read out loud, confused.

~*~

It was the day after Xellos had visited Amelia in her room. The princess had been on pins and needles the whole night, and had barely slept. She kept expecting the Mazoku to return, and was actually surprised when morning came around and he wasn't there.

When she dressed for the day, she donned her travelling cloths instead of a gown. It paid to be prepared for anything, after all, and if she needed to defend herself in a fight, she didn't want to ruin an expensive dress.

She'd left her room only for breakfast and lunch. The last thing she needed was for Xellos to show up when there were people around. If the guards tried to arrest him as an intruder, they wouldn't stand a chance against him. Thus, she held the fort in her room, giving her father the excuse that she wasn't feeling well.

She'd cast Astral Vine on a chair, and held it over her head as she waited. She knew physical attacks couldn't hurt a Mazoku, and to be fair she knew that Astral Vine wouldn't do much good against one as high ranking as Xellos. But at the same time, she felt he deserved to get hit, even if it didn't hurt.

She started feeling a bit ridiculous when suppertime rolled around. She was even considering the thought of putting down the chair, when she heard the familiar voice whisper in her ear: "What are you waiting for?"

She cried out in surprise and swung the chair around. She met only air as Xellos easily dodged her.

"What in Cepheid's name are you thinking?" She exclaimed, bringing the chair back up in a defensive position.

"Why, Amelia-san," Xellos said, ignoring her question, "How unjust of you to attack first and ask questions after!"

Amelia's face turned red, "Not as unjust as stealing a girl's first kiss!"

He raised an eyebrow, "Oh? I thought for sure that you two had at _least_ made it _that_ far."

She didn't know it was possible, but Amelia felt even _more _blood rush to her face, "Wh… What are you talking about?"

Xellos waved a hand, "Oh, nothing important. In any case, I was wondering if you'd like to spend the evening with me."

She blinked in surprise. She supposed the kiss should have clued her in, but of all the things she'd been expecting, being asked out on a date wasn't one of them.

"Why would I want to do _that_?" She demanded.

"To get out of the castle?" He suggested, "Have some fun? You're getting restless being indoors all the time, aren't you?" With those words, he eyed the chair she still held.

Embarrassed, Amelia put the chair down, "I suppose, it wouldn't do any harm to get away… And I _do_ have the evening free…"

"Excellent!" He cheered before she could say anything else, "I know just the place!"

He put an arm around her waist, pulling her uncomfortably close before teleporting them both away.

~*~

Amelia sat slightly confused on the edge of a fountain in the middle of Seyruun as Xellos came back holding two chocolate ice-cream cones.

"Thank you," She said when he handed her one of the ice creams, not forgetting her manners, despite the strange situation.

"I like the ice cream here," Xellos said as he sat next to her.

"Well, it _is_ famous," She said with a bit of pride, "Probably the best in this part of the world."

"It reminds me of travelling with Lina's group," He admitted as he started on his cone.

"Really?" Amelia asked, a bit surprised. It wasn't as if the group spent much time in Seyruun.

Xellos nodded, "Mostly because it tastes like suffering."

"Ah… Suffering?" She asked, looking at him strangely, but then gazed off into space, "I suppose, our travels weren't exactly pleasant most of the time, were they?"

She thought back to all the battles she'd been in while travelling with Lina. It seemed like trouble followed the sorceress around.

Actually… Amelia glanced back at Xellos and had to repress a chuckle as she realized that trouble _literally_ followed her around.

"It was _your_ fault half the time," She accused him, though smiled to let him know that she didn't harbour any hard feelings for it. After all, he'd saved their lives just as often as he'd endangered them, and was usually on their side when it mattered.

He chuckled, "Well, I _was_ under orders for most of those, though I admit that I _did_ enjoy the free meals."

Amelia was surprised at how relaxed she felt around Xellos at that moment. Even before she knew he was a Mazoku, she'd always been suspicious of him. And yet now, sitting right next to him as he casually spoke of feeding off of the negative emotions of her and her friends, she felt completely at ease.

"And whose orders are you under now?" She asked him, feeling that she should at least try and find out what he was up to.

"No one's, actually," He admitted, "I have some free time, so I thought I'd relax a bit."

"And taking princesses out for ice cream is how Mazoku relax?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Only when the ice cream is this good," He said with a chuckle, "Apart from that, I do still feel that little twinge of loneliness coming from you. It's like…" He paused and seemed to think his words through, "It's like a small treat. Like a candy. Too weak for a full meal, but just strong enough to get the taste of it."

"I suppose," Amelia sighed, "I haven't seen everyone in so long… I wonder what they're up to?"

"Want to find out?" He asked, extending a hand towards her.

She hesitated for only moment before nodding and taking his hand.

~*~

"Gourry!" Lina yelled angrily, "Stop picking the grapes that are low to the ground, those are the only ones I can reach without levitating!"

"Why don't you just levitate, then?" Gourry replied, but complied anyway by focusing his attention on the higher up grapes.

"Because we're here to _relax_, idiot! I'm not going to wear myself out picking grapes!"

Lina and Gourry had arrived in Zephilia about a month ago. After the shock of finding out that Gourry actually knew her father (apparently they'd met shortly before Gourry had met _her…_ Strange how the world works), Lina was able to relax back into the old home routine.

Well, mostly the old routine. It was a bit different with Gourry there, after all. She now had to deal with her big sister's teasing about her 'boyfriend'.

Just the thought made her blush. Okay, so she'd finally admitted to herself that she liked Gourry _like that_, but the two hadn't discussed it yet, and she wasn't planning on telling him any time soon. Thankfully, he was too much of a jellyfish brain to catch onto the hints that her sis kept dropping.

Or was he? She bit her lip and glanced up at her bodyguard, whose attention was focused on reaching a really high grape. Sometimes she wondered if he _did_ know her feelings, but just didn't say anything to keep from embarrassing her.

She didn't even notice that she was staring at him until he dropped a grape in her mouth and tapped her chin upwards to close it.

"You shouldn't stand with your mouth open like that," He told her, "You might swallow a bug."

She blushed brightly, then chewed and swallowed the grape before nudging him in the side for his comment... Hard.

She really needed to stop zoning out when he reached for things like that…

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a popping noise from behind her. Glancing back, she was surprised to see Xellos and Amelia waving at her… Wait, were they holding hands?

"Lina-san!" Amelia called out, then let go of Xellos's hand to run up and give her a hug.

"Amelia?" She asked, not masking her surprise, "What are you doing here? With Xellos?"

"Just having a bit of fun," The answer came from Xellos himself.

"Fun, huh?" Lina asked suspiciously. Anything the Mazoku found fun usually involved trouble for her, "You'd better not be cooking up a plan that'll destroy my home town. I'll sick my big sis on you if you are."

Xellos laughed nervously, "I have no intention of destroying Zephilia… Or of engaging in combat with Luna-san or yourself."

"He got me ice cream," Amelia said, pointing at a half eaten chocolate ice cream, and looking like she was having trouble believing this information herself.

"Ice cream?" Lina visibly twitched, "_Xellos_ got you ice cream?"

She glanced over at Xellos, who was standing off to the side and eating his own ice cream.

"He was just getting me away from the castle for a while, and I wanted to visit you guys… And well, here we are."

Lina brought a hand up to her head, "Okay, whatever. As long as you two aren't up to no good."

"Lina-san!" Amelia pouted, "You know that I would _never_ cause trouble… at least, not on purpose… Xellos, I'm not so sure about, but so far he hasn't hurt anyone."

Lina laughed, "Well, so long as he doesn't start anything, you two are welcome to join us back at my place."

"We're making wine!" Gourry piped up, "You can help squish the grapes!"

"Sounds fun," Amelia said with a smile.

As they began the walk back to Lina's parents' house, Xellos decided that this was as good a time as any to speak up, "Lina-san, I hope you remembered to get something for Amelia's birthday."

"Oh, it's your birthday?" Lina asked, "Why didn't you tell us when your birthday was while we were travelling?"

"It was yesterday, actually," Amelia replied, "And it's not like we were ever travelling _on_ my birthday, so it never came up."

"Well, I hope you at least told Zelgadis… I'm sure he probably found lots of cool stuff on his travels for you…"

Amelia shuffled to a halt as realization dawned. She _hadn't_ told Zelgadis her birthday. That's why he didn't write to her.

"Is that guilt I smell, Amelia, dear?"

She blushed brightly, "Shut up, Xellos-san."

"You didn't tell Zelgadis?" Lina exclaimed, choosing to ignore for the moment how familiar Xellos was being.

"Um… I guess not…" Amelia muttered, staring at her now melting ice cream, "I feel kinda bad for being mad at him for not writing, now…"

"Ah, don't worry about it," Lina put an arm around her shoulder, "You'll tell him next time you see him. He visits you often, right?"

"Um… No, actually… He hasn't visited in a while… Not since the fight in Taforashia…"

"What?! That Zel, I'm gonna kick his ass next time I see him!" Taking her arm back, Lina punched her palm.

"Lina-san," Amelia sweat dropped and waved her hands, "Don't worry about it, really. I'm sure he'll come by eventually."

"Probably sooner than you think," Xellos said under his breath.

"What was that, Xellos-san?"

"Nothing," He answered with a smile.

"Knowing Zel," Lina sighed, "He probably won't come back until after he's found his cure…" She shook her head, "I imagine he probably thinks Rezo was lying, that time…"

"Can't be helped," Gourry shrugged, "He's a determined guy."

"Yeah, I guess so…" Lina shook her head as they arrived at the house, "Anyway, let's just enjoy ourselves… Tell you what, since it's your birthday, let's actually _drink_ some wine instead of making it! Sorry Xellos. I know you're probably loving the bitterness."

Xellos shrugged, "I'll get my fill later."

"Now, about that wine," Lina exclaimed, "I think my parents have a bottle that should be ready any time now."

As Xellos and Amelia sat at the dining room table, Lina and Gourry disappeared to the cellar to drop off the grapes they'd picked and to get a couple of bottles of wine.

"What the hell is the Princess of Seyruun and a Mazoku doing in my house?!"

Xellos winced and Amelia glanced back to see a woman she assumed to be Lina's older sister, Luna. Her hair was cut short in a style very similar to Xellos's, only dark auburn. She was dressed like a waitress, probably just coming in from work.

"They're with us!" Lina's voice called up from the cellar.

"Lina!" She ran to the cellar door, "It's a Mazoku! Since when are you friends with a Mazoku?"

"Um… Friends is a bit of a strong word, there… I think of him more as a useful acquaintance… Anyway, he promised not to start trouble!"

"He'd better not," Luna crossed her arms, "Or I'm going to kill you after I kill him."

Amelia thought she could hear Lina shudder in the other room. There was a moment of uneasiness before Luna sighed, then extended her hand to Amelia, "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, princess. I apologise for my outburst."

"Don't worry about it," Amelia shook her hand awkwardly, "It's a pleasure to meet such a renown knight of Cepheid."

Luna smiled cheerfully, but then cast a glare in Xellos's direction, "In any case, I should leave before I attack my sister's _other_ 'guest'."

Without another word, she left the room.

Gourry looked out from the cellar, "It's okay, Lina, she's gone now."

It was then that Amelia noticed Lina's arms snaked around Gourry's waist. Her head peaked out from behind him, "Are you sure?"

"Seriously, you need to get over that fear of your sister."

Lina shakily let go of him, "Not while she's alive. Though even if she dies, I'm sure she'll come back to haunt me…"

Gourry sighed, then brought the wine bottles they'd fetched to the table, "Who's up for some home made wine?"

With the ice broken, the rest of the evening passed relatively uneventful. It was just like old times.

Well, almost. Amelia still couldn't help but wish that Zelgadis was there with them, but she managed to hide it from everyone… except Xellos, of course, who's eyes she felt on her every time she thought of the chimera.

When night fell, Xellos stood up from the table, "Well, it's been an interesting day, but I should really bring Amelia back to Seyruun before the kingdom gets into an uproar over their missing princess."

Amelia flushed, not having realized how late it was, "Yes, you're right… We should really be going."

"Say, Xellos," Lina leaned over the table, more than a little intoxicated, "Since when are _you_ the one to prevent chaos in Seyruun?"

"It's my day off," He teased, knowing full well that Lina wouldn't believe him, "And I don't do overtime."

"Yeah, sure," She replied, then grabbed an unopened bottle, "Hey, Amelia! Take this back home with you. Think of it as a birthday present from me and Gourry!"

Amelia took the bottle with a polite thank you, then took Xellos's extended hand before vanishing.

"There's something weird going on with those two," Lina commented when they were gone, "They're too friendly with each other… Don't you think so, Gourry?"

She glanced over to see the blonde swordsman passed out on the table.

"Idiot," She mumbled, but then yawned, "Actually… that's not a bad idea…"

She leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder, asleep in seconds.

~*~

Xellos and Amelia materialised back in her room, and she turned to smile at him, "I had a good day today… Why?"

Xellos chuckled, "This is one time that it really _isn't_ much of a secret."

He leaned over to kiss her cheek, and she found that she didn't even want to protest.

"Until tomorrow, princess," He said with a wave before vanishing.

_Why is he being so nice?_ Amelia thought to herself, blushing.

**~End of part 2~**

**(A/N: So whenever our Plotting Booth at the pizza place is taken, we migrate to the one across from it. This other booth is illuminated by a red light, and so we've nicknamed it Rezo the Red Booth. Not to be confused with Copy Rezo the Red Booth (or Copy Booth, for short), which is right next Plotting Booth. Rezo and Plotting get along quite well, but Copy Booth seems to be jealous of the attention they're getting.**

**Anyway, we live off of feedback, so please don't be afraid to leave a review! We don't bite… hard.**

**Chapters should be released fairly frequently. Friday is our **_**planned**_** update day from here on out.)**


	3. Chapter 3: Easy to Read

_(Warnings and Disclaimers same as previous chapter)_

**To Love a Monster**** (part 3)**

**~Easy to Read~**

**by: AniDragon and TheLostZelda**

* * *

Zelgadis returned to strange flame lit chamber with the mirror, as the note had told him, the very next day. Nothing had changed at first glance. When he stepped up to the mirror, he saw that the note was, as he had hoped, the manuscript. It was opened and placed just so that the words were legible. He grinned and was about to start reading when a gloved hand closed around the pages and set them aflame.

"Ah, ah, ah, can't have you reading that," Xellos's voice rang out in a teasing tone as the hand waved a finger in Zelgadis's direction. It reached back into the darkness, then came back holding another piece of paper.

The hand came out of the mirror and passed the page to a now angry Zelgadis, who took it despite himself, "I have some much more interesting reading for you. See you in Seyruun!" and with that the hand waved and vanished.

Zelgadis spun around and hit the pedestal, causing fractures to travel down to its base, "DAMNIT!"

Damn that Xellos! Every time he got close, that bastard got in his way. He opened the note angrily, almost tearing it in his haste.

'**Guess who Amelia is dating?**

**Here's a hint: It's a secret. ^_~'**

"What the hell?!" Zelgadis exclaimed out loud, then caught an extra line scribbled at the bottom.

**P.S. She's a great kisser.**

"XELLOS!"

~*~

Throughout the next week, Xellos began appearing to Amelia in more places than her room. He visited her while she did her paperwork, keeping her company during the boring chore. When her guards spotted him, she didn't even think twice about declaring him as a friend and comrade of hers.

After that, with his presence in the palace no longer suspicious, he began accompanying her nearly everywhere she went. Rather than be annoyed by his presence, Amelia actually found that she enjoyed his company.

The only person he seemed to avoid was Prince Phil. Amelia had a feeling that her father's eternal optimism was a bit too much for the Mazoku. It saddened her to think that her own personality wasn't enough to repel him. After all, hadn't she herself told him that her heart burned with the light of justice? His presence around her, though not unwanted, really hit home how she wasn't as much like her father as she wanted to be.

_Maybe he's just used to me_, she comforted herself.

He didn't try to kiss her on the lips again, though he did occasionally place a kiss on her cheek or the back of her hand. She found that she was actually disappointed, though she couldn't for the life of her explain why.

But when he escorted her to her room one night, she found the burning question escape from her lips: "Why haven't you tried to kiss me again?"

She could have sworn she saw him smirk, though it was hard to tell his expressions apart sometimes, "Well, you seemed rather offended the first time… I didn't want to push my luck."

"Oh..." Was all Amelia could think to reply. She bit her lip as the awkward silence stretched out.

"Do you want me to?"

She blushed and looked down at her feet. Did she? For the longest time, she hadn't wanted to kiss anyone other than Zelgadis. But with the chances of him ever returning becoming slimmer and slimmer… And really, other than the first night he'd come to her, Xellos had been a perfect gentleman the entire week. So, she wasn't exactly _opposed_ to kissing him again…

She jerked her head slightly in a nod, and felt his hand cup her cheek. She tilted her head up as he placed his other hand on her waist to pull her closer. He pressed his lips against hers, and her eyes fluttered shut.

She knew the body he had was only an illusion, but it was a convincing one. His lips felt so warm against hers…

"I've been spoiling you a lot lately, you know that?" He murmured as he pulled away only slightly. His breath tickled her as he spoke.

"Yeah, I've noticed," she replied softly.

He stepped back and bowed, like he had every day this past week, "Until tomorrow, princess."

With those words, he disappeared.

~*~

Prince Phillionel learned about Xellos the next morning, when a guard offhandedly brought up Amelia's new 'friend'. When Phil seemed confused, the guard was honestly surprised that he hadn't met him, as Xellos was almost constantly by Amelia's side.

Phil then decided that he should ask his daughter about this new… 'friend'.

Meanwhile, Amelia was sitting in her office, busy working away on some official business. Xellos hovered next to her, correcting her spelling as she went along.

When there was a knock at the door, Xellos winced and vanished, sensing Phil's aura through the door. Amelia stifled a chuckle and went to open the door for him.

"What is it, daddy?" She asked when she saw him.

Phil glanced around the room, noting that it was empty, and that there weren't any hiding spots anywhere. Funny, the guards had mentioned that Xellos _had_ in fact been in there with her.

"Amelia…" He started awkwardly, "Rumour has it that you've been spending an awful lot of time with a certain person lately."

Amelia blushed lightly, "Um… well… Xellos-san has been keeping me company… You know him, he helped protect you when you were being targeted by assassins, remember?"

Phil nodded, "Yes, I remember. A good lad, though a bit strange. What I'm wondering is why he hasn't seen it fit to introduce himself to me. After all, it's not like I wouldn't welcome a friend of yours."

"Um… He's just shy," She fumbled the excuse out, "But I can arrange a meeting, if you'd like."

"I would appreciate that," He said, rubbing her hair.

"Why, Prince Phillionel! What a pleasure to see you!" Xellos came up behind Phil, masking his distaste well, "I hope my presence in the palace hasn't been a bother."

Phil smiled when he saw the priest, "Xellos-dono, was it? I've heard you were around. It's strange that we didn't meet up sooner."

Xellos laughed nervously, "Well, it's a big castle, I suppose."

"Yes, well, you'll have to join us for meals from now on. The cooks always make too much, so you can help yourself."

"I'm sure that this is a rare offer to friends of Amelia's," Xellos had to chuckle, "Didn't Lina-san clean out the palace's food supplies last time she was here?"

Phil gave out a hearty laugh; "We don't talk about Lina-dono in front of the cooks anymore. It causes them too much stress… Well, in any case, it's nice to have met you. I have some work of my own to take care of. I'll see you at dinner time."

"Yes, of course," Xellos bowed, allowing Phil to pass by as he left.

He let out a sigh of relief once the prince was out of sight. He went back in Amelia's office and collapsed into a chair, "That man is far too joyful."

Amelia chuckled, which made Xellos twitch more.

"You aren't helping!"

"I'm sorry," She smiled, patting him on the head, "If it makes you feel better, you can go mention Lina-san to the cooks later."

She sat back at her desk and twirled a pencil in her hand, "Xellos-san… I'm sorry to have to ask this so bluntly, but… Are you trying to take over Seyruun?"

Xellos raised his eyebrows and glanced back at her, "Take over Seyruun? Why in the world would I want to do that?"

Amelia shrugged, "I don't know… Because it's the white magic capitol of the world, and you're a Mazoku… So wouldn't it be beneficial to you to try and take it over, to rebuild it as you please?"

"Perhaps it would be," He answered, "But as of right now, I have no intention of taking over Seyruun."

"Hm…" Amelia frowned, not liking the sound of the 'as of right now' part. But she couldn't really blame him, she supposed. If he received orders later, he'd have no choice but to obey them, "Alright, fine, I believe you. But then why have you been getting close to me like this? If it's not to try and get into a position of political power, then what?"

"I have more than one reason for this, as I've told you… But I suppose it won't hurt to tell you one of the reasons."

He stood up from his chair and walked over to her. He pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, then leaned back on the desk, "I want to take down your mask."

Amelia blinked, confused, "My… mask?"

Xellos nodded, "You portray a mask of happiness and joy. Of course, sometimes it's genuine, but sometimes you're just hiding your fears and insecurities. Your sadness and anger. It's understandable, of course. As a princess, you need your kingdom to think that everything is fine. But it infuriates me when you continue to wear this mask around your friends."

Amelia gulped, wanting to tell him that he was wrong. She wanted so much for him to be wrong. But she knew he was right.

"So why does this bother you?" She said instead.

"Why do you think?" He asked, opening his eyes and looking right at her. His gaze made her shudder, "When you're mask is up, I can only just barely taste those emotions. It's why Mazoku are so drawn to you. Didn't you ever wonder why Gduza-san always attacked you and no one else? When we get just a taste of those negative emotions, the uncertainty, the doubt… It makes us crave more."

"So you're saying… That if I express my feelings more… That Mazoku won't be attracted to me?"

"Not quite…" He waved a finger, "But they won't need to go through extremes to get to those feelings."

"And so this is the extreme that you went through to get me to open up?"

"I wouldn't call this an extreme," He laughed, closing his eyes again, "Would you rather I torture you?"

"No, this is fine," She smiled nervously, "Strange, but fine."

Xellos stood up straight and rubbed his thumb on her cheek before leaning over to kiss her temple, "Don't worry, torturing princesses isn't my style."

"You seem to have no trouble torturing dragons," She said slyly, thinking of all the fights between him and Filia.

"Only the golden ones," He joked.

Just then, a guard entered the room, "Princess, there's…" He trailed off when he saw the position they were in, but then cleared his throat and continued, "There's someone in the lobby who'd like to speak with you. I believe it's a friend of yours."

Amelia blushed, knowing that the rumour mill would get a blast out of this, as Xellos pulled away from her to let her stand up, "Thank you, I'll be right down."

When the guard left, she glanced up at Xellos, "Do you think we might have forgotten something at Lina-san's?"

He shrugged, and followed her out of the room.

**~End of part 3~**

**(A/N: It took us over a week to realize that Plotting Booth has a plug right next to it. So now we can actually bring a laptop with us and get some writing done in the Booth itself. :D But it's a bit ironic how we can notice so many little details in the Slayers-verse, and yet miss an easily visible _plug_.)**


	4. Chapter 4: Bittersweet Treat

_(Warnings and Disclaimers same as previous chapter)_

**To Love a Monster**** (part 4)**

**~Bittersweet Treat~**

**by: AniDragon and TheLostZelda**

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Amelia and Xellos were chatting amiably as they walked down the hall to the entryway. When they got near, Amelia glanced over to see whom the visitor was, and could swear she felt her heart stop.

"Z…Zelgadis-san?"

She could feel so many emotions running through her at that moment. She was happy that he was finally here, and guilty because she'd started moving on. She hadn't waited for him.

She noticed the glare that he threw at Xellos, but she supposed that that was to be expected. He'd never liked Xellos, after all. Still, this was going to be awkward to explain.

She smiled, ready to welcome him, when he burst out; "What is the meaning of this?!"

He stormed up to the two of them, "You'd better be lying, Xellos," He growled, "You'd better not have touched her!"

Xellos extended a hand protectively in front of Amelia, "I never lie, Zelgadis-san."

Amelia, for her part, subconsciously ducked behind Xellos. She didn't realize it at the time, but she'd picked up this habit from Zelgadis protecting her in battle.

"Amelia, tell me you aren't with him," He turned to her, an expression of pain across his face.

She clutched Xellos's cloak and hid herself further. She hated seeing him like this.

"Amelia…" His voice softened, and she thought she heard a hint of anxiety, "I thought you would wait for me…"

There was silence from the princess.

"Amelia, say something!" He demanded, desperate.

"I did wait," She mumbled into the cloak.

"What?" Zelgadis stepped forward, moving around Xellos, worried.

"I did wait!" She shouted this time as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Amelia…" He extended a hand to her, but paused, not sure how to respond.

"Every day, I hoped for just one word from you, but it never came!" She exclaimed, then began to sob and, to Zelgadis's distress, turned to _Xellos_ for comfort. He, in turn, spun and wrapped a protective arm around her, supporting her.

"I'm sure she's glad to see you, Zelgadis-san, but I believe your little show just now overdid it," Xellos scolded him, "Once she's calmed down, she'll come find you. Until then, please stay in the castle. We wouldn't want her to get even _more_ upset by you leaving… again."

Without waiting for Zelgadis to reply, Xellos turned his attention back to the crying princess and they both disappeared, leaving a sad, frustrated, and confused Zelgadis behind.

~*~

Back in the safety of Amelia's room, Xellos held the princess awkwardly, sitting on her bed. Her incoherent sobs soaked his cloak and her frail frame shook in his arms. What had happened? Zelgadis came and acted as he had planned, furious and hurt... But Amelia's reaction was too much. Her anger and sadness erupted so violently that even he himself didn't see it coming. A few tears, a little anger and a touch of confusion, that's all he had expected of her. This overflowing stream of grief, sadness, and regret… Were these the emotions that she hid behind that happy exterior?

Xellos hugged her closer, moving one hand to rest on her head while the other wrapped around her waist, comforting her. He rested his head in her miasma black hair. _Oh the bittersweet taste of this sadness...wait a minute...what am I doing?!_

His eyes widened and he lifted his head to look at where it had been. _Why am I comforting her? Why did I take her away from the cause of her pain? And why do I care about her feelings like this?_ These thoughts bounced around his head, while he was unable to move away without disturbing Amelia… Or was it that he didn't _want_ to move away?

"I don't understand…" She whispered between sobs.

"Hm?" Xellos looked down at her.

"I…" She pulled away just enough to wipe some tears from her cheeks, though they were quickly replaced by more, "I know he doesn't like you… But I don't understand why he was so angry just from seeing you…"

"Ah," Xellos glanced away awkwardly, "I believe that Zelgadis-san's anger might stem from a note I left for him…"

Amelia's sobs stopped suddenly as this information sank in. She glared up at him, her eyes dangerous, "What note?"

"I suppose, now would be as good a time as any to tell you…" He said with a nervous chuckle, "My original plan was to stop Zelgadis-san from searching for the Claire Bible manuscripts. I thought if I could get him to Seyruun, I could get… a bit of a break, you could say. And I thought that the fastest way to get him here willingly was to make him think he was loosing you."

Amelia was at a loss for what to say. So Xellos had orchestrated this whole thing just to bring Zelgadis to Seyruun? As much as he could claim that it was for his own goals, it seemed like it would have been easier for him to just kill Zelgadis and have it be over with.

_But what I _will_ tell you is that this plot can easily become beneficial to you as well._ That was what he had told her that night. Was this what he meant?

"You said that that was your original plan," She said, noticing the way he'd worded it, "So what is your plan _now_?"

Xellos smiled, his eyes opening, "You think that after having tasted your raw emotions just now that I could just let you go without a fight?"

Amelia's breath caught in her throat when he leaned over to steal a kiss from her. She didn't fight him, though she was starting to think that maybe she should…

"You're too much of a treat to share," He whispered against her lips, "Will you allow me to challenge Zelgadis-san for you?"

Her eyes widened, "Challenge how?"

"Nothing that should injure either of us," He promised, "But I think a time limit would make things interesting, ne?"

"Time limit?" Amelia felt like she should have figured out where he was going by now, but her mind and emotions were too jumbled for her to follow.

"I'll need to make a few preparations before I can tell you more," He told her, his eyes sliding shut, "But you'll find out soon enough."

With a quick peck on the cheek, he disappeared, leaving her speechless and confused.

It took her a few minutes to remember that they'd left Zelgadis very awkwardly in the middle of the lobby.

"How am I going to explain this to him?" She brought a hand to her forehead, horrified.

~*~

Zelgadis sat in the lobby, holding the small box that held the ring he'd bought for Amelia, and cursing himself under his breath.

How could he have been so stupid? Making her wait and wait for him, and just assuming that she'd always be available? Sure, her feelings for him were obvious, but she was a princess. For the sake of her kingdom, she couldn't just keep waiting for someone that might never come. And it wasn't like he'd given her any guarantee that he _would_ return. He'd always hoped that she would just… know.

"Stupid," He muttered. Now, he might have lost her forever. And to that bastard, of all people! If only he'd have kept his calm when he came in, then maybe she'd have…

But what in the world did she see in Xellos? She knew he was a Mazoku, after all. How could she trust him like that?

Just how lonely was she?

He remembered her telling him once, during her mission to Luvinagard, that she would suffocate if she had to stay in the castle for too long. Meanwhile, he'd been exploring the world without her… Why didn't he stop by to bring her along? She would have enjoyed getting out and spending some time together. He wouldn't have minded sticking to the less dangerous places while she was with him…

He sighed in frustration and placed the ring back into his pocket. How could he even think of giving that to her _now_?

"Zelgadis-san?"

His eyes widened and he glanced up to see a flustered Amelia standing in the hallway. She was alone this time. He felt like the biggest jerk in the world when he spotted the puffy redness around her eyes.

"Amelia, I am _so_ sorry," He stammered, standing up and starting towards her, but pausing before he got near. His arms hovered in front of him awkwardly as he recalled what had happened _last_ time he'd rushed towards her. He clenched his fists and brought them down, "It was out of line for me to yell at you like that. You aren't the one I was angry with."

"I know…" She said as she stepped closer to him, "You never did get along with Xellos-san…"

"Well, that too," Zelgadis admitted, "But… I know that I'm to blame as well… I hardly ever wrote to you… I shouldn't have expected you to keep waiting for me."

"I'm just glad your back," she said, "Even though it's only because Xellos-san taunted you."

He opened his mouth to say that he'd been planning to come back anyway, and subconsciously placed a hand over the pocket that held the ring, but knew she wouldn't believe him. His hand fell back to his side.

Sensing his awkwardness, Amelia took the last few steps towards him and wrapped her arms around his waist, "I missed you."

He brought a hand up to the back of her head, "I missed you, too, Amelia. I should have visited you sooner."

"It's okay. I should have told you when my birthday was."

He stiffened, "Your birthday?"

She looked up at him and smiled sheepishly, "It was a little over a week ago."

"Um…" Wow, that hadn't made him feel _any_ better at all, "Happy birthday. I'll be sure to remember it."

She let out a small laugh, sensing the tension ease out a bit, "I suppose, it'll be hard to forget it _now_."

"No kidding," He rubbed her hair, and she pulled out of the hug.

"I'm sorry for leaving you waiting for so long. Did you want me to show you to your room? Or would you like to come to the dining room? It's almost supper time."

"Well, I left you waiting longer, so it's only fair," He admitted, "And I'm a bit hungry. I didn't have much time to eat during my rush to get here…"

She took his hand and began to lead him to the dining room, even though he knew the way from his previous visits to the castle. They spent most of the walk in silence, until Zelgadis had to ask.

"Amelia, are you and Xellos really…?"

Her pace slowed a bit, and her hand slipped out of his, "He… He's been keeping me company."

"I see," Was all he could think of to reply. From her reaction, he had a feeling that it went a bit deeper than that, and he wanted to pry more, but had a sinking feeling that now was not the time.

~*~

Meanwhile, Xellos stood in the hall leading to Phillionel's office. As much as he dreaded the prince's presence, and his possible reaction, he was still on a slight high from Amelia's sadness. He felt like he could handle Phil's justice aura for the amount of time he needed to be in there for.

A guard came out of the office and nodded at him, "The prince will see you, now."

He strolled into the office to see Phil sitting at his desk, neck-deep in paperwork: Half of which he probably barely understood. Such was the life of royalty, he supposed.

"Xellos-dono!" Phil exclaimed upon seeing him, "What brings you here?"

"Your highness," He bowed down respectfully, "I'd like to ask you for your daughter's hand in marriage."

**~End of Part 4~**

**(A/N: Hm… We totally just threw everyone's emotions into a blender in this chapter. ^^; It was kind of fun. On a sadder note, with the school year ending, the two of us won't have access to the Plotting Booth anymore, and will have to work on this over messenger instead of in person… But our updates should still be frequent as we do have a decent buffer to work with. So look forward to more Friday updates! We'll be sure to let you know if we run out of buffer.)**


	5. Chapter 5: Too Much to Stomach

_(Warnings and Disclaimers same as previous chapter)_

**To Love a Monster**** (part 5)**

**~Too Much to Stomach~**

**by: AniDragon and TheLostZelda**

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When Zelgadis and Amelia entered the dining hall, they saw two things.

The first was Prince Phillionel sitting at the end of the table: his usual spot. To his right was an empty seat where Amelia usually sat. In Zelgadis's previous visits, he would usually sit to _her_ right.

But the second thing they saw was Xellos sitting in that spot.

Zelgadis had to bite back a comment that that was _his_ spot. But he knew that the only real reserved spots at this table were Phil's and Amelia's, so he really had no basis for claiming that spot other than the fact that he'd always sat there before.

_I can't cause a scene,_ He thought to himself, _I've made enough of a fool of myself today as it is._

Amelia took her seat as normal, and Zelgadis grudgingly sat across from her.

He threw a glare at Xellos, who was smirking. Bastard. How he managed to smirk while Phil was there was a mystery, but Zelgadis had a feeling that his own negative energy, especially since it was directed at the Mazoku, was enough to negate Phil's positive energy.

Phil nodded politely to him as he sat down, "It's good to see you again, Zelgadis-dono."

Zelgadis turned his attention away from Xellos and put on a brave face, "It's always a pleasure, your highness."

The prince chuckled, "What's with the formalities, boy? You know you can just call me Phil."

"I guess I've been away too long," He admitted, looking down, "It would have felt awkward to be so familiar."

The expression on Phil's face fell a bit, "Oh, come now, it's not like _that_ much has changed around here."

Zelgadis couldn't help but glance at Xellos at that comment, "Really, now?"

"Well, okay, there have been a few changes," He admitted, "But, you've been a friend of the royal family's for years, now. That isn't going to change."

Despite everything that had already happened that day, despite that damn Mazoku smirking at him across the table, Zelgadis still managed to feel honoured at Phil's words.

"Thank you, your high… er, Phil."

The conversation had almost appeased Zelgadis's mind… Until he looked over and saw Amelia leaning towards Xellos, seemingly concerned about him. A normal person wouldn't have heard her whispers to him, but Zelgadis's sensitive ears caught the conversation.

"Are you alright being so near my father, Xellos-san?" She asked.

He nodded and smiled at her, "Don't worry, there's enough negativity in the room to balance it out."

With that, he turned back to Zelgadis, opening one eye and smirking at him.

_Why that little…_

His thoughts were interrupted by the waiters arriving with their meals.

Finally, something to take his mind off of all of this.

As always, the food was elaborate and delicious. So it was quite unfortunate when Zelgadis caught Xellos's eye as he was taking his first bite.

When Xellos noticed that the chimera saw him, he took an even bigger bite, almost challengingly.

Not wanting to be bested, Zelgadis glared daggers at him and ate a bigger mouthful, almost choking, but managing to keep it down.

It took only seconds for this to escalate into an eating contest that would put Lina and Gourry to shame.

Amelia's eyes widened as she witnessed this. Had she missed something? She never thought she'd see the day when Zelgadis would eat like Lina. It seemed totally out of character for him. Did he feel _that_ threatened by Xellos?

She thought that she should probably feel flattered by this. They were fighting over _her_, after all. But really, she just found it immature for both of them.

_Men._

She opened her mouth to tell them both to cut it out, but before she said anything, she noticed Zelgadis start to slow down.

_Good. He's noticed how childish he's being… Wait._

Amelia winced when he turned a bit green.

"Don't think you've beaten me," He managed to threaten, taking a few deep breaths.

"Zelgadis-san," Xellos tilted his head, "Did you forget that my real body is on the Astral Plane? I can't get full on normal food."

Zelgadis's eyes widened, and he brought a hand up to his mouth as he stood up and bolted out the door.

"Xellos-san!" Amelia scolded, "That was extremely unfair!"

The Mazoku raised an eyebrow, "It's not _my_ fault that he forgot that little detail."

"Still…" She pouted a bit, then stood up from her spot, "You could have told him sooner. I'd better go check to make sure he's alright…"

He placed a hand gently on her wrist, "Zelgadis-san may not have a strong stomach, but he'll be fine. He has a lot of endurance, after all."

"In any case," Phil interrupted, "Amelia, you and I need to have a word in private."

"Huh?" Amelia glanced over to her father, and nodded, "Very well then."

She smiled apologetically to Xellos, "I'll be right back. If Zelgadis-san comes back, please don't tease him."

Xellos seemed like he was looking for a way to answer, but then just shrugged, "I'll try."

Amelia sighed. She supposed that that was the best she'd get out of him.

She followed Phil out to a small conference room near the dining room, where they both took a seat.

"Amelia, it seems to me that you and Xellos-dono have gotten quite close."

She blushed, "Ah… what makes you say that?"

She supposed, rumours _did_ spread awfully fast in the castle, and both the guards and the maids would have seen them together… Not to mention, Xellos usually, after escorting her _into_ her room… left without anyone seeing him.

"Well, the rumours among the guards and maids are one thing," Phil confirmed, "But also, Xellos-dono came to me with a request earlier today."

"…Really?" Amelia asked, honestly surprised that Xellos would have willingly met with her father.

"Amelia…" He looked at her seriously, "He asked for your hand in marriage."

Her eyes widened as big as saucers, "Huh?!"

"Naturally, I told him that it depended on your feelings," Phil reassured her.

Was this the challenge that Xellos had mentioned earlier? He'd mentioned a time limit… But honestly, _marriage_?

"I…" Amelia stammered, "I don't know what to say…"

Wait, was she actually _considering_ it? Yes, she enjoyed spending time with Xellos, but he was a Mazoku. How could she even hesitate? There was no way she could accept!

_But he did say that he had no intention of taking over Seyruun… _She frowned, trying to think of how much political power he could gain from a marriage, _So long as daddy and I are still here, we'd be able to overrule any decisions he could try to make… And it wouldn't be his style to try and kill us off… Even though he easily could…_

"Keep in mind," Phil continued, "If you do accept, it won't be irreversible until the wedding itself. This isn't a political arrangement, after all. It's not like a war would break out or something. And you could set the date for as late as you want!"

Amelia bit her lip as she took in the information. He was right, just accepting the engagement didn't mean she had to go through with it. It just meant that the option was there.

_Am I really going to accept a proposal from Xellos?_

She thought of how well Xellos had treated her the past week or so. How he'd been there for her, and was helping to break her out of her shell.

_He understands how I feel... He even brought Zelgadis back to me… _

Zelgadis… What would he think?... What would he do?

He'd try to prevent the wedding, probably. Or at least, Amelia liked to think so.

This would at least be a way of finding out how Zelgadis felt.

"I… I accept," She stammered, "But I don't want too much of an uproar about it just yet, okay? Keep it quiet until I've decided on a date."

_Or until I've decided to cancel… _

Phil nodded, seemingly surprised by her answer, "Very well. Let's go tell Xellos-dono of your decision, then."

_Just what am I getting myself into?_

As they left the room into the hallway that led to the dining room, Amelia's heart froze in her chest when she saw Zelgadis standing there, staring at the door they'd just come out of, horrified.

"Zelgadis-san…"

Did… Did he overhear the conversation on his way back? How much had he heard?

_Amelia, don't be an idiot, look at his face! He must have heard everything._

He seemed to be searching for his words, and opened his mouth a few times only to close it again. Amelia glanced down at the floor, not able to keep eye contact. He mirrored her reaction seconds later.

The tension was so thick it could only be cut with the Sword of Light.

"Ahem," Phil spoke up, "Amelia, why don't you go back into the dining hall? Zelgadis-dono, I'd like to have a word with you, please."

Amelia nodded and continued to the dining hall, still looking at the floor and her face red.

Phil led Zelgadis into the room he'd just left, shutting the door behind them, "I realize this is an awkward situation for you."

"No kidding," The chimera sighed and sat on a nearby chair, "I guess it's just my rotten luck, huh? It's my fault for waiting so long…"

"I wouldn't say that," Phil tried to reassure him, "After all, you love my daughter, don't you?"

"What does it matter now?" Zelgadis demanded, "She already accepted his proposal!"

"Conditionally," Phil reminded him, "If you heard the whole conversation, then you must have heard me tell her that she can change her mind at any time. You haven't lost yet."

He brought a hand up to his forehead, "But… What in the world can I do to change her mind? What can I offer her as I am now?"

"I believe Amelia has told you on more than one occasion that she doesn't care about your appearance."

"My appearance isn't the problem!" Zelgadis exclaimed, "If it was just that, it wouldn't matter. It's this stone skin, and… I don't know my own strength sometimes… I'd hurt her."

He could almost hear Phil rolling his eyes, "She's stronger than you think. Do you know how many times she's fallen out of trees or off of balconies? She's a tough girl."

He thought back to all the times he'd seen her fall flat on her face after or during a justice speech… Once even _before_ a speech. A small smile graced his face, "Yeah, I suppose… But… I don't even know if I can give her children…"

_Actually, for that matter, neither can Xellos, _He thought to himself, _That's probably a good thing._

"A blood heir isn't always the most important thing. Here in Seyruun, love and justice are what really matter!" He patted Zelgadis on the back, "I know that Amelia had feelings for you before you left, and I think she still does. If you show her how you feel, you could still win her back."

"So you think I have a chance?"

"I know you do!" Phil grinned and gave him a thumb up.

_Well, if even her father is rooting for me… I'll show that damn Xellos._

"Thank you, Phil," He said sincerely, "I'll give it my best."

"That's a good lad!" The prince decided to emphasise this by trying to pat Zelgadis on the head. He winced as his fingertips hit the tips of the wire hair, and he pulled his hand away with a nervous chuckle, "Now, let's get back to dinner, shall we?"

Zelgadis brought a hand to his mouth, his face turning a bit green, "Um… I think I had enough to eat. I'll just… um, go think on things."

As he left the room, Phil pondered the events of the day. The truth was, Xellos had specified in his request that this be only a mock wedding. No one else was to know of this, though Phil was having a hard time keeping this a secret.

_All of this in the name of a challenge for my daughter's love,_ He thought to himself, _She really has gotten popular._

**~End of Part 5~**

**(AN: Well, this'll be the last update we do before we move away from each other. We'll try to keep up with our usual friday updates, and should be good for a while, so no worries there. Glad everyone has enjoyed it so far and we hope that everyone will bare with us if we get a little behind.)**


	6. Chapter 6: Getting Even

_(Warnings and Disclaimers same as previous chapter)_

**To Love a Monster**** (part 6)**

**~Getting Even~**

**by: AniDragon and TheLostZelda**

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Zelgadis sat, arms crossed, on the walkway atop one of the defensive walls. He needed air and he needed to be alone, and this area was usually pretty quiet. His back against the wall, he let his mind wander as it wished, as long as it didn't settle on food.

It wasn't long before his mind wandered to Amelia. She had agreed to Xellos's proposal… Agreed to _marry_ him. _Him_! The source of his new misery. He groaned and rubbed his temples.

What had Xellos done to Amelia to make her accept? Was it a mind control spell? ...Couldn't be, she wouldn't have hesitated so much in her answer. Did he threaten her? ...No, she wouldn't have huddled behind him if he had...

Wait a minute. The way Xellos defended her... Was the same way that Zelgadis used to during battle. Had Xellos started to treat Amelia the way Zelgadis had while they used to travel together?

_"He's been keeping me company,"_ Her words echoed in his head. Was Xellos just acting like him to get in her favor? That would explain her gravitating towards Xellos. Amelia constantly hinted that she liked him for who he was, inside and out, so for Xellos to get so close to her so fast just by acting like him would have been easy. Xellos was probably, in Amelia's mind, replacing him.

"That damn Mazoku!" Zelgadis growled out loud. Just what was he planning with all of this?

Was it a plot to take over Seyruun? But, Amelia would have thought of that, surely… And would have completely believed him if he denied it.

Xellos never lied, that was true, but he was an expert at wording things so that he had loopholes. Zelgadis hoped that his earlier "She's a great kisser" comment was said within one of those loopholes. Just the thought of that bastard kissing Amelia…

He sighed in frustration, when a light caught his eye.

He glanced over to a now illuminated window. The curtains were drawn, so all he could see was a familiar silhouette. Actually… Make that _two_ familiar silhouettes.

~*~

When Xellos escorted Amelia to her room that night, and gave her a goodnight kiss, it felt… hollow. With the current and upcoming events, she didn't feel so swept off her feet as she had when he'd first wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. Though the action was the same this time, now it just seemed like he was telling her that, until tomorrow, she had some private time.

This thought would make her sleep a little easier, but the fact that his room wasn't too far made her uneasy. Could he sense her emotions from where he was staying? Did he even stay in the castle? He could spy on her so easily without even needing to see her…

She sighed and tried to wipe the thought from her mind as she prepared for bed. Zelgadis was here now, so she couldn't be completely focused on Xellos anymore. After all, she loved Zelgadis... Didn't she? Come to think of it, before he came back, her thoughts of him had decreased. She wasn't constantly hounded by the 'what if's of what a relationship with him would entail. Instead she was only thinking of what was in the present around Xellos.

Amelia scolded herself for giving up on Zelgadis so easily, especially after she had all but promised herself to him. She sighed and stepped behind the dressing screen and began changing for bed.

~*~

Zelgadis had meant to look away when he'd realized that it was Amelia's room he was staring at. Really, he had. But that was Xellos in there with her. _In her room_. And he'd….

He closed his eyes, but the image of their silhouettes was burned on his retinas. How could she let him hold her like that? And kiss her? She didn't even try to push him away!

_If I hadn't been gone for so long_, He thought bitterly, _that could have been me._

He shook his head, knowing that those thoughts wouldn't help the situation any. All he really needed to know was that he had a _lot_ of ground to cover.

She trusted Xellos. She let him _kiss_ her. And she'd agreed to marry him.

Meanwhile, what did Zelgadis have? Nothing. After all the time they'd spent together, all the time that he _knew_ she liked him, he had _nothing_ to show for it.

_Okay, that's it… I'll ask her to spend the day with me tomorrow…_ He thought to himself, _Prince Phil even said himself that this isn't over yet. But… what would we do?_

Well, they could catch up on the year they'd missed, he supposed. That was a good place to start.

He glanced back at the room just in time to see Xellos vanish. Well, thank Cepheid for that. If he hurried, he could probably get to her room before she went to sleep.

Zelgadis had left his room through the skylight earlier, so he knew it was still unlocked. He figured that that would be the quickest way to get inside, so he Ray Winged over and dropped down into his room.

Amelia's room was just down the hall. He speed walked over and knocked on her door.

There was a flustered "Just a second!" and Amelia opened the door a few minutes later, wearing a pink satin nightgown, with a robe hanging off of her shoulders.

"Ah, Zelgadis-san," She reddened, pulling the robe closed self-consciously, "What is it?"

"Um…" He blushed, looking off to the side, "I was wondering what your plans were tomorrow…"

"My… plans?" She tilted her head to the side, "Well, I have some official duties in the morning, but my afternoon and evening is free…"

"Would you like to spend the day with me?" He blurted out, and then backtracked a little, "Um, I mean… To catch up and stuff, you know?"

He made himself look at her, waiting for a rejection. He was surprised when she smiled and nodded, "I would love to. I'll meet you at lunch, then?"

Zelgadis felt a giant weight lift off his shoulders, "That sounds great. Um…"

He shuffled his feet awkwardly. He should just say goodnight and let her be. But with Xellos giving her a very different type of goodnight…

_Well I can't exactly grab her and kiss her, now, can I?_ He argued with himself.

"Well, goodnight," He mumbled pathetically, bowing his head and rushing off.

After a few steps, he felt a pull on his cloak, making him stop. He turned to see Amelia looking up at him, "Don't leave! You didn't give me time to say goodnight back!"

"Ah," Was the only reply he could think of.

She smiled, looking as adorable as she ever had. Her voice was soft as she spoke, "Goodnight, Zelgadis-san."

He placed a hand on her cheek, thinking that maybe he should kiss her after all. But… no. Instead, he slid his hand into her hair and pulled her into a hug.

"Sweet dreams, Amelia."

She hugged him back, snuggling against his chest, "You, too, Zelgadis-san."

Zelgadis reluctantly pulled away, one hand returning to its former position on her cheek, while the other rested on her lower back. After a brief hesitation, he let them drop, and turned back towards his room.

Amelia watched him leave, a soft smile on her face. After all this time, he was finally showing interest in her beyond friendship.

Why did it have to be _now_?

Why did it take her getting engaged for him to show his feelings?

And why was Xellos still on her thoughts when all she wanted was right there in front of her?

~*~

A smile crept across Zelgadis's face on the way back to his room, and stayed for the rest of the night.

Today would be his day with Amelia, and he thought of the perfect way to spend it with her: A way that Xellos wouldn't even think of. With Amelia busy in the morning, he'd have just enough time to prepare it, too. Today looked like it was going to be a very good day.

Even breakfast was in his favor. Despite yesterday's eating contest, Zelgadis's stomach welcomed a full meal, especially with the Mazoku suffering across from him. Although this confirmed his mood yesterday as being the only reason why Xellos could stay in the room with Phil, this also meant that his positive outlook on today's plans were causing him pain. Oh, joy!

It wasn't long before Xellos excused himself. Amelia was puzzled at first but when she looked over at the smiling chimera, she giggled a little.

_He must be in a very good mood, if it managed to repel Xellos-san, _She thought, amused. She, Phil, and Zelgadis ate together happily.

"Well, we'd better get going," Phil said when they were done eating, standing up, "Amelia and I have an important meeting to attend."

"I'll see you at lunch, Zelgadis-san," Amelia said with a smile.

"I'm looking forward to it," He answered.

Zelgadis could have sworn he saw Phil wink at him before they left the dining hall. Once they were gone, he got up to start preparing for the day.

Meanwhile, Xellos was roaming the castle, trying to find some negativity after the overdose of happiness that was the breakfast table. Seriously, how had that chimera gotten _that_ happy, _that_ fast? He was sure he'd at least have a few weeks of him being miserable. Heck, Zelgadis had once talked to a wall for less.

He went over his acquaintances in his head, thinking of who might be a good meal. Lina and Gourry were out of the question. They'd catch on too quickly, plus Luna was with them. Even though the knight of Cepheid had some good anger to snack on, he was quite certain that she was willing and capable of killing him.

He thought of Filia, but Val had just hatched not long ago, so she was brimming with motherly love and joy. She could probably even give Phil a run for his money right now in terms of happiness.

Well, there was that _other_ option… And Amelia _had_ said it was all right... With a grin, he disappeared.

~*~

Down in the kitchen, the cooks and dishwashers were still talking about the previous day. They were antsy, thinking that their worst nightmare was here to visit.

"The waiters said she wasn't there, though," One of the cooks said, "It was that chimera, and the priest."

"Really?" One of the dishwashers exclaimed, "I never would have guessed. I was sure it was… you know… _her_."

Everyone in the room shuddered.

One of the chefs thought he felt a presence behind him, but when he turned, there was no one there. Shrugging, he went back to what he was doing.

_"There's going to be a wedding soon,"_ A voice whispered in his ear, _"And Lina Inverse is invited."_

He jumped and spun around, "Who just said that? Don't even joke about things like that!"

The other cooks glanced at him like he was crazy, "Things like what? No one said anything."

"N… No one said anything about a wedding? But someone said… And I heard _her_ name!"

The other cooks shuddered, and exclaimed various things along the lines of "Oh, gods!", "No!", and "I quit!"

"Relax," The lead chef tried to calm everyone, "It was probably just his mind playing tricks on him because of the craziness yesterday… It just jumped to the worst case scenario."

That seemed to calm them down slightly, though the chef still couldn't forget the ominous warning.

_Much better,_ Xellos thought, watching the scene play out from the corner, _The kitchen really is the best place to get a snack._

**~End of Part 6~**

**(A/N: First post while separated. We've been less productive then usual. Mostly cause TheLostZelda's computer was in a box for 3 days and she couldn't hover over Anidragon's shoulder. But as long as the flame of Justice burns in our hearts and the bunnies of plotting breed freely in our brains, we will continue our fic 'till the bitter end. Which shouldn't be for a long while now.)**


	7. Chapter 7: At the Edge of a Dragon Slave

_(Warnings and Disclaimers same as previous chapter)_

**To Love a Monster**** (part 7)**

**~At the Edge of a Dragon Slave~**

**by: AniDragon and TheLostZelda**

**

* * *

**

Lunch went as well as breakfast had. Xellos didn't even show up, which made Phil a bit concerned. When he inquired about it. Zelgadis shrugged, "He probably wasn't feeling very well."

"I'm sure he's fine," Amelia said, "He might just be busy."

The lack of worry from the two assured Phil that all was well. He still had some documents to sign regarding foreign affaires, so he got up from the table once he'd finished his plate.

"I'll leave you two to yourselves, then," He told them as he left the room. This time, Zelgadis was _sure_ he caught Phil's wink.

_Well, there__'__s no question about who _he's_ rooting for_, Zelgadis thought with an amused smirk.

He got up and circled around the table, and then extended a hand to Amelia, "Are you ready to go?"

She smiled and took his hand, "Of course! Just let me go change cloths, alright?"

Zelgadis nodded, embarrassed a bit that he forgot that she'd need to do that, "Yeah, sure."

She giggled and led him back to her room.

~*~

Zelgadis waited out in the hallway as Amelia changed, going over his plans for the day in his head. Everything should go well, unless they were sabotaged or something. Which, granted, was possible considering that his rival was Xellos. Still, Zelgadis figured that any sabotage that the Mazoku could come up with would only sabotage himself.

Amelia finally emerged from her room wearing her usual travel cloths, "Alright, let's go!"

He nodded and offered her his arm, which she happily took.

They made small talk as he led her out of the castle and into the city. When they began to head for the city gates, Amelia asked him what he had planned.

"I thought we'd take a walk in the woods," He said casually.

"A… walk?" She asked, looking up at him.

"Yeah," He answered, "I figured, since you probably don't get out of the castle much… It might be nice. And, you know. Nostalgic."

_Crap. This plan sounded a lot better in my head._

"That's a great idea!" Amelia exclaimed, "Xellos-san has taken me out of Seyruun a couple of times, but he just teleports everywhere. I miss walking."

Zelgadis decided to take that as a small win. Yeah, Xellos had probably taken her more places. But Amelia enjoyed the trip more than the destination.

"I wonder if we'll run into any bandits to bring to justice…"

"Amelia," He had to chuckle, "You sound like Lina. Besides, do you think any bandits are crazy enough to stick around Seyruun? Especially with you and your father around?"

"Haha, I guess you're right," She admitted, "It's too bad we don't have time for a longer trip… Well, maybe some other time."

"I'll keep that in mind," He said, meaning it.

As they left the city limits and made their way to the forest, Amelia noticed a large bag attached to Zelgadis's belt, almost hidden by his cloak, "Hey, what's that?"

"That's a se…" He stopped himself mid-sentence. _What_ had he been about to say? "A surprise, for later."

"Oh…" she mused. She luckily didn't seem to notice the slip-up. Or if she did, she kept quiet about it.

After a few moments, Zelgadis decided to try and start a new conversation, "I wonder what Lina and Gourry are doing?"

"Probably making wine with the grapes they collected the other day," Amelia answered without thinking.

"Huh?" Zelgadis looked at her, stunned.

"Oh yeah, Xe… Er… I saw them last week… In Zephilia…" She stammered.

His head dropped, "Ah. Um… So, are they doing well?"

Amelia nodded, glad to fill the awkward silence, "They seem to be. Lina-san is still terrified of her sister of course, though now that I've met her I can kinda see why…"

"She's really that scary?"

Amelia shuddered, "Yeah. Even Xellos-san was scared."

She clamped a hand over her mouth, too late.

_Why do I keep bringing him up?_ She scolded herself.

"Xellos… Is afraid of a human?" He asked, a smirk barely gracing his face.

"Apparently so…"

Zelgadis let out a laugh, "Oh, man, that's priceless! I'll never let him live that one down…"

"Zelgadis-san!" She gave him a mock-glare, "She really is that scary!"

"I'll take your word for it," He replied, though he was still smiling.

_He__'__s been smiling a lot lately,_ Amelia thought to herself, _It__'__s nice._

"So, what have _you_ been up to, Zelgadis-san?" She asked.

"Well, as I'm sure you're aware, I'm still looking for my cure… Although… I'm starting to think that it's not out there."

She gave his arm a squeeze, "Well, maybe you're just looking too hard. You know, whenever I loose something, it's usually right under my nose, and I just don't see it."

"Maybe," He shrugged, "So maybe I just need to stand still for a while, and let it find me."

She glanced up at him, shocked. Was he saying what she thought he was saying? His cheeks were a bit red… Yes, he was definitely saying that he was planning on staying here.

_And I want to marry someone _else_? _She thought to herself, _Was I crazy when I accepted?_

Unless…

Unless he was only saying this _because_ she was getting married. She looked back down at her feet, frowning. What if he just felt threatened by Xellos, and was only planning on staying until the wedding was off?

"Are you alright?" Zelgadis asked, concerned.

"I… I'm fine."

_Don__'__t be ridiculous! This is Zelgadis-san we__'__re talking about! He__'__d never do something like that… Would he?_

He wouldn't consciously make that decision to hurt her, but… He might get restless…

It's not like she didn't understand. She got restless staying in one place, too. But she had a duty to her people, and that's what kept her here. Zelgadis didn't have that obligation.

"Zelgadis-san," She hated to have to bring this up, but she needed to know, "Before you got Xellos-san's note… Where were you planning on going next?"

Zelgadis shuffled to a stop, "How… Did you know about the note?"

"He told me about it," She admitted, "He was trying to get you off of the trail to the Claire Bible, so he could have a break."

"I'm that persistent?" He asked, surprised.

"Apparently so," She laughed a bit, "But stop changing the subject!"

"Right… Where was I planning on going next. Well…"

_If he says he was planning on coming back… He might be lying. He knows it__'__s what I want to hear._

"That was my last lead, actually," He told her, then seemed to hesitate on his next words, "So after that… Well, I had a few options, I guess. But finding the note sort of made my decision for me."

She bit her lip, "So… You were considering coming back anyway? And you just hadn't made up your mind?"

"I guess you could say that," He blushed a bit, and she noticed his hand stray to his pocket, "I was strongly considering coming back, though. I know you might not believe me, but… I did want to come see you."

Amelia debated for a moment on whether to believe him or not. She wanted to. And she was sure that the thought of coming back had indeed crossed his mind. But she wasn't sure if she could believe that he would have come even without the note.

His hand was still by his pocket. She wondered if that had anything to do with the topic at hand.

"What's in your pocket?" She asked curiously.

He blushed and pulled his hand away, "Nothing."

She narrowed her eyes at him, "What kind of nothing?"

He laughed nervously, "The 'princesses-shouldn't-pry' type of nothing!"

"Zelgadis-san!" She exclaimed, "You wouldn't have… _that_ sort of thing in your pocket!"

Now he just looked confused, "Um… What are you talking about?"

"Well... If you say I shouldn't pry…. Is it something illegal?"

He nearly fell over, "Why the heck would I bring something illegal with me? Do I seem like the type to smuggle drugs or something into Seyruun?"

"Well, I suppose that does sound pretty ridiculous…" She admitted, "But… What _is_ in your pocket then?"

"Amelia!"

"Right, right, I'm sorry," She laughed, "I'll drop it."

_But that doesn__'__t mean I won__'__t stop thinking about it_, She thought slyly.

Meanwhile, Zelgadis was thinking that maybe his pocket wasn't the best place to keep the ring.

The next couple of hours went by a bit more smoothly as they walked through the woods. The vibrant colours of the fall leaves made the forest look like it was on fire, and the leaves that had already fallen made crunching noises beneath their feet. It was a bit chilly, but walking kept them warm. There weren't any more awkward topics brought up, so it wasn't long before the two were as comfortable as they'd been during their travels.

"Well, it looks like we're almost there."

Amelia looked around. As far as she could tell, they were still in the middle of the forest. Though she'd grown up in the area, it was impossible to know the entire forest by heart, so she wasn't sure what was in this particular area.

"Almost where?" She asked.

He stayed silent and led her through a part in the trees. When she caught the sight, she gasped.

"Wow! You can see almost all of Seyruun from here!"

They were standing on the edge of a solid-looking cliff, from which most of the city could be seen. There was plenty of room for them to stand after the tree line ended, and while Amelia was taking in the view, Zelgadis took out a blanket from the bag on his belt and spread it out.

She turned around when she heard the shuffling of cloth, and smiled excitedly, "We're having a picnic?"

"Just like old times," Zelgadis replied, then put the bag on the ground and opened it to reveal a picnic basket, "I'm afraid I only got some very basic food. I had to make sure it wouldn't spoil during our walk."

"That's alright," She sat down next to him, "This was still very thoughtful of you."

As he set up the food, Amelia couldn't help but notice a nearby blackened rock. A couple of the trees looked singed, too. She glanced back at Seyruun, and then realized that this was the view she used to get from one of Alfred's houses.

"Zelgadis-san… Is this the edge of the crater from Lina-san's Dragon Slave?"

He laughed nervously, "You caught me. I have a good view of it from my bedroom window, and it looked like it had potential… I checked it out this morning to be sure."

He finished laying out the food and looked over at the city, "Seyruun sure recovered well from it, though. You can barely tell that there was a Dragon Slave cast here."

She nodded, "The people here are very resilient. We're a fortunate kingdom because of that."

"I'd say the people are fortunate for having a resilient royal family," Zelgadis countered with a smile.

Amelia blushed a bit, "Well, anyone with a love of justice in their heart would do just as good."

"I don't think so," He glanced over to her, "It's more than just justice that makes you and Phil strong rulers. It's the love and respect you have for your people. Without that, you'd never be able to recover from a disaster such as a visit from Lina."

She looked up at him in shock, "Zelgadis-san, did you just make a love and justice speech?"

He paused in the middle of reaching for a sandwich, "Um… Yeah, I guess I did. You must be rubbing off on me."

She smiled, and then, once he'd settled back into his spot, food in hand, she leaned her head on his shoulder, "I guess I am."

He tensed up a bit at her action, being caught off guard. But after a moment, he relaxed and enjoyed the closeness.

_This was a good day,_ He thought to himself.

**~End of part 7~**

**(A/N: Sorry for uploading this so late in the day. We were both hit by thunderstorms, so couldn't exactly coordinate everything. Then when we both managed to get online, we noticed lots of changes that needed to be done... So, yeah. But we still managed to get it here before the end of the day. Woot!)**


	8. Chapter 8: Goodnight Kiss

_(Warnings and Disclaimers same as previous chapter)_

**To Love a Monster**** (part 8)**

**~Goodnight Kiss~**

**by: AniDragon and TheLostZelda**

* * *

The sun was just beginning to set when Zelgadis and Amelia arrived back at Seyruun castle. Xellos felt them coming before he saw them; they were practically bleeding happiness. With a barely audible hiss, he melded into the shadows just as they came in sight, in the hallways leading to their rooms.

"I had a wonderful time today, Zelgadis-san," Amelia said as she opened the door to her room. She spun back to face him, stepped backwards over the threshold, and smiled.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," Zelgadis replied from the hallway, "Perhaps we can do this again sometime."

"I'd like that," She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist, "I've missed spending time with you."

He returned the hug, pulling her closer. Though he was still a very reserved person at heart, he'd gotten used to her casual touches and embraces over the course of the day.

"I guess we'll have to make up that time, then."

She nodded against his chest, enjoying the closeness. She felt like she could just stay there forever.

Zelgadis's train of thought was on a similar track. He wanted to hold her longer… Just a few more minutes… But he knew he had to let her go eventually. It was getting late, and she probably needed to get up early the next morning.

He reluctantly pulled away, meeting her gaze. He gave her a small smile, "Good night, Amelia."

"Good night, Zelgadis-san."

She leaned forward, hoping to kiss him, but just as she did he stepped back and turned, not noticing her movement. She almost stumbled forward as she watched him leave down the hall.

_Did… Did he completely miss that?!_ She thought to herself. She thought she'd been pretty obvious the whole day. How could he just turn around and _leave_?

She sighed, stepped back into her room, and closed the door. So much for a perfect evening.

She jumped slightly when she felt a presence behind her, especially when that presence lazily wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Xellos-san?!" She questioned.

"Did you have fun today?" He purred into her ear.

She flushed, "Um… I did, yes…"

Was he angry? She'd accepted his proposal, but then had spent the day with another man… It was certainly grounds for him being angry.

"That's good. I certainly wouldn't want you to become estranged from an old comrade."

"You… aren't mad?" She asked, surprised.

"Of course not," His voice sounded silky, and his breath tickled her throat, "I know your feelings for Zelgadis-san, after all. I wouldn't be satisfied from just having you if I didn't have a fair competition with him."

"I don't think I like being thought of as a prize," Amelia pouted.

He hugged her closer and placed the gentlest of kisses along her neck, "I wouldn't say that. It's your decision after all. It's up to you to decide which of us you want to be with… Which one of us... makes you feel the best."

As he spoke, his fingers drew circles on her stomach. He felt her shiver, but she didn't protest.

"It's funny, though," He continued, "Zelgadis-san gets so angry at the thought of us together… But he hasn't even tried to kiss you yet. It makes one wonder if he really sees you as a woman."

"Zelgadis-san is a gentleman," Amelia spoke up, but the words felt hollow.

"Perhaps," Xellos agreed, letting one hand drift down to her hip and brush her leg, while the other settled just bellow her ribcage, "But surely he can see how much you want him. How much you crave his touch."

Amelia wasn't sure what to say or do at this point. She couldn't deny anything Xellos was saying. She knew he was only trying to plant the seeds of doubt into her mind, but his words made too much sense for her to ignore.

She _also_ couldn't ignore his hands, which were making her feel things no other person had _ever_ made her feel.

She needed to get away from him, to clear her head. She turned to him, which left the hand that had previously been on her stomach now on her lower back. His eyes were open, observing her and her reaction.

"I…" She took a step back, and he let his hands drop away from her, "I'm sorry, Xellos-san, but… I have a lot on my mind right now… I'd like to have some time to myself, to sort through it all…"

"Of course," He closed his eyes, then leaned over to brush his lips against hers. He smiled when he pulled away, "Take all the time you need. _I_ won't be going anywhere far."

He vanished after those words, leaving Amelia feeling confused, vulnerable, and shaken. She sat on her bed and hugged her knees close. How had such a perfect day with Zelgadis fallen apart so quickly?

~*~

Zelgadis was preparing for bed, smiling, feeling that the day had gone exactly as planned. After a moment, though, he heard a tell tale poof in the corner of the room. He smiled a little more, hoping his good mood would once again repel the unwanted company.

"Well, you seem to be in a pleasant mood tonight. Did you have a good time with Amelia-san?" Xellos grinned as he floated.

"As a matter of fact, I did," Zelgadis smiled up to the Mazoku, "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason," Xellos drifted down to the floor and walked up to Zelgadis, "I just thought that something had gone wrong, since she looked quite upset about something."

Zelgadis's smile flipped, "What are you talking about?"

"Hm… Well, surely you did something that wasn't to her liking…"

"I didn't do anything to her!"

"Ah…" Xellos opened his eyes slightly with an amused smirk, "So that's why."

Zelgadis's heart froze. Had he missed something? Had there been something so simple and obvious that, because he didn't notice it, Amelia hadn't enjoyed herself? He started running through everything in his head, thinking over and over again, what he could have done differently. She had been happy and smiling the whole day. When he'd dropped her off at her room, she'd even hugged him. What more could he have done… _wait… did she want… a kiss goodnight… from me?_

He shifted his gaze to stare at his hands: His stone hands. The ones that he had held Amelia with so lovingly only a few moments ago, he now looked at in disgust. He loved her, he had wanted to kiss her, but he'd held himself back due to his current state. He had thought that maybe she wouldn't have wanted to unless he found his cure, because of this stone skin. This curse that mattered so much to him, but so little to her, had made him miss something that she'd clearly wanted, and had totally spoiled the evening… _crap._

Xellos watched Zelgadis with pure pleasure, sure that, even without his ability to feed off of emotions, he would have been able to read his fluently.

"Well, I had best be letting you get some rest," Xellos stated, floating again, "After all, you had a long day, despite doing nothing."

He vanished before Zelgadis could reply. The chimera's knees gave out as he sat hard on his bed. How could he have been such an idiot?

Thinking over the day in his head, he remembered all the advances she'd made that he'd mistaken for casual actions. The hugs, the grazing touches, the closeness… He must have been blind not to notice.

He lay back onto the pillows and covered his face with his hands. He couldn't imagine getting to sleep after this. Damn that Xellos, he was probably enjoying this from wherever he was.

He turned onto his side and sighed. So much for the perfect day.

~*~

Breakfast was very awkward the next morning. Xellos was present, looking satisfied and happy, while Zelgadis and Amelia seemed more interested in their food than in each other. In fact, despite them sitting directly across from each other, they managed to completely avoid making eye contact.

Phil took this as a negative sign, but chose not to voice his opinion. He had to trust Amelia to handle this on her own.

Zelgadis, on his part, was trying to figure out how to get a moment alone with Amelia to talk to her about yesterday. He needed to make it up to her.

When breakfast was finished, Amelia stood up, "Well, I need to be getting to my paperwork. I have a lot to do today."

There it was, his opportunity. He began to rise from his seat, ready to offer himself as an escort to her office. But…

"Amelia-san, allow me to escort you to your office," Xellos was already up, and had an arm around her waist.

_Bastard._

Amelia looked back at Zelgadis, making eye contact with him for the first time that morning. She seemed to recognise what he'd been about to do, and clearly felt ill at ease about the situation. She shrugged and gave an apologetic smile before allowing Xellos to lead her out of the room.

Zelgadis slid back into his seat, his fist falling on the table hard enough to make Phil jump.

"Don't feel too bad," The prince tried to reassure him, "He always escorts her."

"Right," His voice deadpanned, "Not helping, Phil."

The two sat there for a few moments as Phil tried various speeches before Zelgadis got up, excused himself, and left the room. It was clear that, good as his intentions were, none of the prince's advice was actually worth remembering.

He needed to get his mind off of this. He thought of going to the library, but he doubted he could concentrate on reading. Still, maybe he could go take a look around. He'd been gone a long time, after all. There might be some new books there of interest to him. He recalled Amelia mentioning once, during their travels with Lina, that she was trying to gather more books about chimeras so that he'd have more reading material whenever he visited.

He altered his course to make his way to the library. However, he didn't realize that he had to pass in front of Amelia's office to get there. At least, not until he actually passed by the door.

It was slightly ajar, just enough that he had a clear view of Xellos and Amelia. Xellos was leaning forward over Amelia's shoulder and she was leaning back facing towards him. Zelgadis couldn't see exactly what was happening, as Amelia's head was blocking his view, but was trying his best not to think the worst. Xellos stepped back from her and she sighed saying: "Thank you Xellos-san, I really needed that."

Zelgadis quickened his pace down the hallway and tried even harder to get the thought out of his head.

"Any time, Amelia-san," Xellos leaned back against the wall as Amelia went back to her paper work. She had asked him to proof read a letter to a foreign ambassador to check for any grammatical errors, and he'd approved of what she'd written so far.

He noticed, as he was pulling away, an emotional shift from curiosity to horror and anger coming from the hallway. It tasted like the chimera, and Xellos almost laughed at the situation when he realized what he and Amelia would have looked like from the hallway. He couldn't have _planned_ it any better!

_Zelgadis-san, you're making this far too easy, _He thought slyly.

**~End of part 8~**

**(AniDragon's Note: I can't seem to get a hold of TheLostZelda today, but I didn't want the chapter to be late, so I'm going to post it now. When I talk to TLZ again, we're probably going to post an updated version with some extra corrections. (Probably nothing majorly different, though.)**

***after getting a hold of her*  
**

**TheLostZelda's Note: Poor Mr. Zelgadis. ;; XD)**


	9. Chapter 9: Playing Fair

_(Warnings and Disclaimers same as previous chapter)_

**To Love a Monster**** (part 9)**

**~Playing Fair~**

**by: AniDragon and TheLostZelda**

* * *

The rest of the walk to the library was a blur. The only thing Zelgadis could think of was what he'd seen in that room. Or… at least what he thought he'd seen.

_They might _not_ have been doing anything,_ He tried to tell himself, _There__'__s a chance that they weren__'__t… But…_

He'd seen them kiss before, so it wasn't unlikely that it happened regularly. Just how often did they… And had it gone further than kissing?

He groaned in frustration. He needed to get his mind _far_ away from Xellos and Amelia. His steps automatically led him to the alchemy section, where the collection on chimera books was.

A good book should distract him from all of this. He located the new books quickly, noticing that there was more than double the amount since the last time he'd been here.

_She really wasn__'__t kidding_, He thought with a small grin as he grabbed as many of them as he could easily carry, then brought them to a table by the window.

It wasn't long before he was completely immersed, the frustrations of the morning pushed to the back of his mind. There wasn't really any useful information, but at least the writing wasn't as dry as most research documents. Becoming so entertained by the current tale of experiments, he didn't even notice when the door opened and a figure walked up behind him.

"Zelgadis-san?"

Zelgadis jumped out of his chair and turned quickly, shocked at the close proximity. "Amelia? What are you doing here?"

Amelia gave him a slightly confused look, "I live here, remember, Zelgadis-san?" She looked down at the table, books opened and blanketing its surface, "You've been busy"

Zelgadis followed her gaze sheepishly, "Yeah, I had some free time, and you had told me before about getting some new books..."

She smiled, "That's right, I meant to tell you about them when you arrived, but, well… I guess with everything that's going on, I forgot…"

"That's alright," He told her, avoiding her gaze as he remembered his actions, "So… What brings you to the library? Are you done with your paperwork?"

"I needed to reference something from a book here, and I suppose I wanted a bit of a break, too," She admitted, "Do you mind if I sit with you?"

"Go ahead," He answered, making a show of clearing some of the books he'd already gone through so that he wouldn't have to look at her.

She sat down adjacent to him, and the two sat in awkward silence for a moment. Zelgadis tried to get back into the book he'd been reading, but found he couldn't quite concentrate on it. Amelia being there kept reminding him of what he'd seen earlier.

"Anything interesting?" She asked, eyeing the book and leaning closer.

"Nothing I've never read about before," He shrugged, "But still, thank you for gathering so much information."

"I thought it might be helpful to you, or at least interesting, so that you'd have something to do when I was busy during your visits… I'm sorry they're not more useful."

"Don't worry about it. I appreciate the effort."

"But still, I wish I could be of more help," She leaned closer still, trying to read over the cover of the book he held in front of him. Before she noticed that her chair was now perfectly balanced on only two legs, she shifted her weight, making the chair legs slip, and she pitched sideways with a small cry.

Zelgadis dropped the book on the table and instinctively caught her. Forgetting that he was trying to avoid eye contact, he looked at her in concern, "Are you alright?"

She winced, but nodded, "I bumped my ankle a bit, but I think I'm fine. Probably just a bruise."

"Ah," He lifted her a bit and helped to detangle her from the chair. He noticed some swelling on one of her ankles, "Looks more like a sprain, actually."

As he began to cast a recovery spell, Amelia suddenly became aware of just how closely he was holding her. She blushed, but didn't say anything. If she mentioned it, he'd probably get nervous and move away.

_He looks so cool when he__'__s casting magic,_ She thought to herself, watching the look of concentration on his face.

He finished quickly and looked back at her, "Is that bet… ter…?"

He trailed off as he noticed, just as Amelia had a few seconds ago, that he was holding her very closely. She was blushing, and staring at him intently.

"Um, yes… It's much better," She replied softly, but didn't make any move to get back up.

He brought a hand up to brush away a strand of hair that had fallen in front of her face. When he did, she closed her eyes and tilted her head towards his hand.

He could sense her will pulling him closer and he did not, nor wished to, fight it. He let his head move on it's own. His fingertips slowly followed her hairline around her neck, the palm of his hand cupping her jaw line. His eyes shut to savour the moment…

"Amelia-san," A voice called from the door as it opened, "What's taking you so long?"

Zelgadis's head dropped and turned away from Amelia as she opened her eyes and looked towards the door.

"X…Xellos-san?"

The Mazoku was grinning, "Ah, I'm sorry, did I interrupt something?"

"Nothing," Zelgadis said coldly as he helped Amelia up, "She just fell."

Amelia's blush told another story, but Xellos didn't press it. He had a pretty good idea of _what_ he'd just interrupted, if the taste of embarrassment with a hint of frustration was anything to go by.

"Did you get the documents you came here for?" He asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"Ah, not yet," She stammered, "But they're just over here…"

She walked by Zelgadis, staring straight at the ground, while the chimera glared daggers at Xellos.

"Is everything alright, Zelgadis-san?" Xellos asked, still grinning.

"Fine," He snapped, "Just fine."

He sat back onto his chair and tried shifting his attention back to his books, but he was seeing red. Great. Just great. Now even his favourite distraction wasn't working.

Amelia came back with the reference documents she needed, and ducked out of the room with Xellos on her tail. When the door clicked shut, Zelgadis slammed the book down on the table, making it shake so much he was surprised it didn't break.

He was starting to wonder if there was even a point to him being there. It was obvious that Xellos just wanted to feast on his misery, and Amelia seemed happy enough with him…

_Argh, what am I thinking?_

He was there for Amelia's sake. She had to see that Xellos was just manipulating her. He couldn't just leave her with him.

_He must be up to something…_ He thought to himself, _If he was just after Seyruun, then why would he have gotten me to come here? Is it really just a sick game to him?_

But if he was just trying to mess with their heads, then why the proposal? What made him make such a drastic decision? Mazoku took contracts seriously, and marriage was legally binding.

Maybe… Maybe there was some sort of fine print against marrying Mazoku? It was a long shot, but the thought was strong enough for Zelgadis to want to research it. If he could find some sort of loophole, then he could put a stop to this madness.

Amelia would be angry if he halted the wedding like that, but what choice did he have, at this point?

_It'll be a last resort,_ He told himself, _Only if I can't convince her otherwise._

But if there wasn't any law or loophole against it… Zelgadis didn't want to think about the fact that divorce wasn't legal in Seyruun.

~*~

Back in her office, Amelia couldn't concentrate on her paperwork. Her thoughts kept returning to what could have happened in the library. She was sure that Zelgadis had been about to kiss her. If they hadn't been interrupted…

"Is something the matter, Amelia-san?" Xellos asked, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"That was a very unjust thing you did back there, Xellos-san" She snapped, refusing to lean back into him.

"Whatever do you mean?"

"In the library," She specified, "You _knew_ what was going on! You were spying on us, weren't you?"

"Actually, I _didn__'__t_ know," He admitted, "I came in more out of curiosity than out of any intention to interrupt."

She sighed, and finally allowed herself to relax and lean back into him, "You really don't play fair…"

"This is news to you?" He asked rhetorically. He moved his arms into a hug, pulling her closer.

Her body didn't resist the pull, but her mind kept returning to Zelgadis. What was he up to now?

"You're still thinking about him, aren't you?" Xellos asked her, resting his head on her shoulder.

"Of course I am," She answered, "You know how I feel about him."

"Hm…" He mused, "You're always saying that… Just who are you trying to convince?"

He felt her confidence waver as she thought on his words. His eyes opened slightly as he whispered in her ear, "Do you really love him?"

"Of course I do!" She exclaimed, "I have for a long time!"

"So long a time… With him not even being here… Sometimes the heart wants what it can't have. Would you feel the same for him if he were always here? Or is it only the distance from him that's making your heart crave him?"

"I… felt the same way about him during our travels…" She argued.

"Well, of course," He said, "But in a life or death situation, it's easy to mix up feelings of friendship with feelings of love, isn't it? And besides, Amelia-san, even if you _do_ love him, as you claim, would a relationship with him really be what's best for you?"

"What are you implying?" She turned her head to him, finding his face surprisingly close to hers. She'd gotten so used to his presence that she was starting to let him get closer and closer to her.

"Humans will often make grave mistakes in the name of love," He brought a hand up to her cheek, "Can you really justify following your heart so blindly?"

"Is loving Zelgadis-san such a mistake?" She asked in a shaky voice.

"You tell me," He brought a finger up to his lips, and vanished from the room.

She shivered from the sudden disappearance of his body heat. The fall chill was starting to reach even the central rooms of the palace, and Amelia found herself craving Xellos's return, if only for the warmth of his arms.

"You _really_ don't play fair," She repeated.

~*~

As Xellos left Amelia's office for the Astral Plane, he felt a familiar tug that meant he was being called by Lord Beast Master. He supposed it was only a matter of time, since it had been a while since his last report. He wondered idly what she would think of the situation he'd gotten himself into. Zelas Metalium wasn't known for her sense of humour.

He teleported himself to Wolfpack Island with a thought, and bowed before his mistress, "You called?"

"You've been away for some time, Xellos," Her voice was silky as she spoke, "What have you been up to?"

Xellos raised his head, "Merely keeping an eye on anyone seeking the Claire Bible, as you ordered me to."

She raised an elegant eyebrow, "Really? So why have you been in Seyruun almost constantly for the past few weeks?"

He laughed nervously, "Well, I suppose it's partially to keep an eye on that great-grandson of Rezo's…"

"I see, so has he finally given up on that silly ambition of his to become human again?" Zelas smirked, amused by the idea.

"Actually, he got distracted by something in Seyruun."

"Does this have anything to do with the princess's new love interest?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"Maybe…" Xellos looked away and scratched the back of his head.

She leaned forward, interested, "And is this in any way connected to the rumours that you've been seen hanging around the princess a lot?"

"There _might_ be a connection…" He admitted.

"Cough it up, Xellos," She demanded, "I have a feeling that you're in a bit too deep."

"I… may have gotten her to start falling for me…"

She let out a laugh, "Oh, this is too much… We should take advantage of this. To have Seyruun in the palm of my hand... This is an opportunity I can't ignore. Now, tell me everything."

**~End of part 9~**

**(A/N: So, we actually were planning on having Zelgadis and Amelia kiss in this chapter, but Zelgadis was too shy and wouldn****'****t let us write it. :P Jerk. So we had Xellos interrupt them, and now Zel****'****s miserable. It****'****s his own fault.)**


	10. Chapter10: Surprised Tastes Like Caramel

_(Warnings and Disclaimers same as previous chapter)_

**To Love a Monster**** (part 10)**

**~Surprised Tastes Like Caramel~**

**by: AniDragon and TheLostZelda**

* * *

It was evening by the time Amelia retired to her room, alone. It felt strange to be by herself, now.

As she changed for the night, her thoughts wouldn't settle on one thing. Her heart was torn, and she couldn't for the life of her figure out _why_.

She loved Zelgadis. She had since the first time he'd ever protected her, and still did. So why did she feel so much doubt, now? Was it just Xellos's words? His questions shouldn't make her so confused if her feelings for Zelgadis were genuine. When had her feelings become so complicated?

And as for Xellos… Hadn't she herself told him that she knew better than to trust a Mazoku? And yet now she confided in him, listened to his advice, and even let him kiss her and hug her and… And she even accepted his proposal! What in the world was wrong with her?

Xellos was a Mazoku. It was his nature to be chaotic and to have secrets. But he'd been completely straightforward with her about his goals. She knew he was only with her because she was a good meal, and to get Zelgadis out of his way… So why did she find herself having these feelings for him?

It wasn't love she felt for Xellos. At least… she was pretty sure it wasn't. She _liked_ him. She was attracted to him, and she'd have been a fool to deny it.

She sighed as she stepped out from the dressing screen, then jumped when she looked up and spotted Xellos leaning against the wall next to her bed, smiling.

"And who might _you_ be thinking about?" He asked slyly.

"Xellos-san!" She exclaimed.

"Really? How sweet," He chuckled.

Amelia rolled her eyes when she realized what she'd said, "Really, now, Xellos-san, you should stop doing that."

He frowned half-heartedly, "Aw, but I love the way you taste when you're surprised. It's like caramel."

She shuddered, "It creeps me out to know what my emotions taste like."

There was a slight pause, and then, "Creeped out tastes like grapes."

She slapped her forehead with her hand, "Too much information, Xellos-san."

He chuckled, then opened his eyes slightly, "Speaking of information, it seems that my superiors are pressuring me to know the date of the wedding. They have no problem with it, but they need to know when I won't be available."

She blinked, "They don't have a problem with it?"

He shrugged, "Humans live, on average, less than a hundred years. Even magic users don't live much longer than that. As far as they're concerned, this is temporary. Now, as for the date?"

"Ah, right," She shuffled her feet, "I haven't really thought much on it, I'll admit… I have to find out how long everything's going to take to prepare… I suppose I'll get back to you once I find that out."

He nodded, "That's fine. Just be sure you let me know as soon as you decide."

"Of course…"

She trailed off as she sat on her bed. Less than a hundred years, he'd said. Probably longer, since she used magic. That might have been a short time for a Mazoku, but for her… a hundred years was a very, _very_ long time. She liked Xellos, but to spend the next hundred years, no, to spend the _rest of her life_ with him? Could she really do that?

_I can stop this at any time_, She told herself, _I don__'__t need to go through with it… And wasn__'__t this just to pressure Zelgadis into showing his emotions, anyway? I… I should stop it now. Before things get out of hand._

"Are you thinking of cancelling the wedding?" Xellos's smooth voice interrupted her thoughts.

She looked up at him, then winced, "I… I'm sorry."

"If you're cancelling it for _him_, you're wasting your time. You know he's just going to leave if you do."

She crossed her arms stubbornly, "You don't know that for sure."

"It's in his nature," Xellos explained, waving his hand, "If you aren't being pursued, Amelia-san, then he sees no reason to protect the mouse from the cat."

She shook her head, "You're wrong… I think… Now that he's seen that I'm willing to move on if he's not here, then…"

"_Are_ you willing to move on?"

"I…" She frowned, "I don't know. Before he came back, I would have said yes, but… But he _did_ come back. I have to trust that he'll stay."

"Hm," Xellos moved from the wall, and looked off out the window, "I suppose, that's your call… But I just don't think he plans on staying. After all, he hasn't even unpacked his bags, yet."

Amelia's eyes widened, "What? How would you know?"

He smirked, "Well, regardless of the fact that Zelgadis-san is _extremely_ predictable, I _have_ visited him since he's gotten here. He keeps his travelling bag at the foot of his bed, and it's still full. I imagine his drawers are probably empty. You can check yourself, if you don't believe me."

"I couldn't! That would be unjust, and an invasion of privacy!"

"If you'd like, I could drag him aside after breakfast tomorrow… It'll give you plenty of time to check, without getting caught…"

"Didn't you hear me say it was unjust?" She protested.

"I never said you had to snoop," He reassured her, "Just take a quick look. I'll keep him busy, regardless. It's up to you whether or not you want to take the opportunity."

Nothing about this seemed right. But… Xellos seemed so sure about this. And he never lied…

_I should just take his word for it… But… I have to know for sure…_

"I'll let you think on it," He said, then leaned over to brush a kiss onto her forehead, "I'll see you at breakfast."

~*~

Amelia couldn't keep herself from being nervous at breakfast. She knew that Xellos could tell, but that mattered little to her. After all, he was the one who planned this. Amelia looked across to Zelgadis to see if he had noticed, but when he blushed and looked away, she could tell that the events in the library had not yet faded from his thoughts.

"Zelgadis-san, may I have a word with you?" Xellos asked as they were finishing up.

Amelia took this as her queue, and quietly excused herself while the two were busy.

Zelgadis noticed her leave, but knew that Xellos would still continue to bother him if he tried to follow her. Better to get things over with.

"What is it?" He demanded. He was still pretty bitter about the events of yesterday, not to mention the fact that he hadn't found ANY laws or loopholes he could use against the wedding.

"What's wrong?" Xellos teased, "Can't we have a friendly chat without you being hostile?"

"A friendly chat requires friendship," Zelgadis answered evenly, "Now, what do you want?"

"So cold…" Xellos shook his head exasperatedly, "I thought you'd have warmed up while you were in the desert…"

Zelgadis crossed his arms, "Yeah, thanks for destroying those documents, by the way."

"Just doing my job," The Mazoku grinned, opening one eye, "Though I saw the most curious thing while I was trailing you… More specifically, I saw what you did, there."

Zelgadis's blood ran cold, "What?"

"That was quite the lovely ring you picked out for Amelia…"

He knew about the ring. Well, it should have been _obvious_ that he knew about the ring, since Xellos had been watching his every move. But why bring it up to him now? Zelgadis thought that he'd just been trying to distract him so that he couldn't escort Amelia today…

He glanced at the door, horrified. Amelia had tried to leave discreetly. Xellos was distracting him. Had he…?

He bolted from the room without a word, as Xellos tried hard not to laugh.

~*~

Amelia sat there, staring into the empty bottom drawer of Zelgadis's dresser. Aside from a few dusty spots in the corners, the drawer was completely bare. _Ok, that's just one drawer_, she thought, _One doesn't mean all. _She shut the drawer and hurriedly opened the middle drawer.

Now she was getting anxious, and needed to calm herself. Amelia shut the empty drawer and looked at the bag at the foot of the bed. It was full, or at least appeared to be, just as Xellos had mentioned. Her attention returned to the dresser and its large drawers. Perhaps he didn't have enough belongings to fill them, so he didn't bother. Or maybe he felt more comfortable living out of a bag.

It had been habit, after all, while traveling with Lina. She herself had once brought a suitcase to a neighbouring kingdom, only to have it almost destroyed when Lina showed up. This lesson had taught Amelia the importance of having everything on one's person at all times, as the only thing one thinks of when running from a Dragon Slave is one's self. This thought didn't help, as the purpose of the habit was to leave as quickly as possible without leaving anything behind. Something that she knew Zelgadis was a master of.

Amelia rose to her feet and opened the final drawer.

With it empty, Zelgadis was ready to leave. Leave without notice, without the worry of anything being left behind, without saying goodbye.

She heaved a sigh and bit her lip to fight back the tears that were starting to form. Her hands were gripping the sides of the drawer so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She'd expected this, so why did it hurt so much to know that Xellos was right?

Amelia felt cornered. On one side, she could cancel the wedding and be free to be with Zelgadis, but if the wedding was cancelled he might leave again and she'd be right back at the beginning. On the other hand, if she didn't cancel the wedding, she'd be married to Xellos for the rest of her life and Zelgadis would still leave her, but not until after the wedding.

Why did she ever agree to this? She missed Zelgadis, and she knew that it was selfish of her. He was searching for his cure, and her desire to see him had interrupted him. Now her stupid emotions had made a mess of everything. Why couldn't she have just waited?

The door burst open, "Amelia!"

She spun and backed into the dresser, shutting the drawer when she saw Zelgadis staring at her in shock. She had been caught.

"Amelia, what are you doing here?" Zelgadis couldn't move. He just stood frozen in place, staring at Amelia, who had obviously been looking in the drawer she had just shut. Did she really know? Was she looking for it?

"I'm sorry. Xellos-san told me something…" Amelia tried to explain, "I didn't believe him, so I had to see for myself."

"See what?" He asked, a little worried. Amelia glanced over at the bag.

He followed her gaze. It looked like it hadn't been tampered with, but… He couldn't be sure. Damn it. Just when he'd stopped carrying the ring with him, Xellos had to pull this…

He couldn't believe that bastard had convinced her to search for it. Amelia had never been the type to look through someone else's belongings. She would consider it unjust, wouldn't she? Then again… it wouldn't be the first time that she'd twisted the definition of 'just'. Plus, with Xellos influencing her… Mazoku had a VERY different definition of the word. Had he changed her that much? And besides…

"It was none of your business," He muttered to himself, realizing too late that she would hear him.

Her eyes widened, and he thought he saw tears welling in her eyes, "Zelgadis-san…"

Okay, that had been rude. But it was true. Until he actually made the decision to give her the ring, it wasn't any of her concern.

"You really never change!" She exclaimed, then pushed past him out of the room.

He stood there, dazed. Why did he have to say that? Even if it was true… It was just another way for him to stall. He shut the door with a frustrated sigh. He needed to fix this, somehow. He couldn't just give her the ring. At this point, it would be too little, too late. Plus, she might get the wrong impression. She was clearly marriage-minded right now, and he didn't think he was ready to commit at _that_ level.

_Well_, he thought to himself, _It's only morning. I can figure this out._

**~End of part 10~**

**(A/N: Before anyone asks, we DO actually have a list of tastes associated with emotions. We'll post a compilation of them at the end of the fic, along with a couple of other extras we have planned. ^_^.)**


	11. Chapter 11: Taking Off

_(Warnings and Disclaimers same as previous chapter)_

**To Love a Monster (part 11)**

**~Taking Off~**

**by: AniDragon and TheLostZelda**

* * *

Zelgadis needed to talk to Amelia. He had probably jumped to conclusions about the ring. Maybe that hadn't been what she'd been looking for in the first place. Even if it was, he had to find out for sure.

He could hear her crying before he even got to the room. Great. He'd made her cry. Again. Well, the least he could do was try to comfort her.

He knocked on the door, and had to keep himself from cursing out loud when he heard a familiar voice say, "It's alright, Amelia-san, I'll get the door."

He wasn't surprised, after that, to see Xellos open the door. He'd probably planned this entire situation, after all. That still didn't stop him from being mad.

"Could I have a word with you?" Zelgadis asked through gritted teeth.

Xellos raised his eyebrows, "Of course," He turned his head, "I'll be right back, Amelia-san."

It took only seconds after Xellos shut the door for Zelgadis to take a swing at him. The Mazoku dodged easily, dematerializing and then reappearing again in the same spot, "My, what violence!"

"You just can't mind your own business, can you?" Zelgadis accused.

"Your business is technically my business," Xellos countered, "At least, so long as you're searching for Claire Bible manuscripts. I need to keep track of everyone who's interested in them, including you."

"So what does Amelia have to do with that? I'm not searching for the manuscripts now, so shouldn't you just take off?"

Xellos smirked, "Amelia has had enough people _take off_ on her."

Zelgadis's jaw dropped, then clenched again.

"Oh, did I hit a sore spot, there?" Xellos teased, vanishing and reappearing behind him, placing his hands on the chimera's shoulders, "After all, you're quite familiar with taking off, aren't you?"

"Shut up!" Zelgadis spun around, his fist meeting only air where Xellos's face had been a moment ago.

"Are you claiming differently?" Xellos was behind him once again, his voice only inches from his ear.

"You _know_ I was planning on coming back, even before I got your note!"

"Well, of course you were planning on coming back for a _visit_," There was a slight pause as Xellos opened his eyes, "Unless, of course, you found another lead."

"I…" Zelgadis wanted to argue, but he couldn't even convince himself that the damn Mazoku was wrong. Damn it, why couldn't he say anything? He would have followed that lead and then come back to her, unless there was a lead after that. Then he would have just put it off like he'd been doing for the past year. He would have come back eventually, but eventually wasn't good enough.

"Can't think of a comeback, can you?" Xellos smirked, sitting comfortably in the air before Zelgadis.

Zelgadis was mentally cornered, and Xellos knew it. Nothing could be said in defence to his comment, at least nothing that wouldn't make it sound like he was grasping at straws.

"You're right…" He finally admitted, frustrated, "I would have followed the lead, and any one after it. I'd follow any lead that might have brought me to my cure, even though I know there might not be one."

Xellos had not seen this coming and was honestly surprised at this humility.

"I'm stubborn like that, I'll admit it. I can't help but believe that there IS a way to get my body back," Zelgadis looked at his hand and clenched it, "Just like I couldn't help but believe Amelia would wait for me. I guess that's two things I misjudged my time on."

There was silence in the hallway as neither party wished to continue the confrontation. Zelgadis had admitted defeat, and Xellos had lowered himself to the ground to stand before him with nothing to say to it. It was at this point that Amelia's door opened slightly and the princess peeked her head out to investigate. Xellos looked to her, but then returned his gaze to Zelgadis, who made no motion at all to acknowledge her presence.

"I want to leave for a while"

Now both Xellos and Zelgadis looked at Amelia, shocked, and she continued determinedly, "I want to go talk to Lina-san about all this, so I can sort everything out."

Zelgadis lowered his head; this was Xellos's department.

The Mazoku walked over to Amelia and embraced her. They both disappeared, leaving Zelgadis standing alone and defeated in the empty hallway.

~*~

Lina leaned back in her chair and patted her full stomach, "Oh, man, that was some good breakfast!"

"I'll say," Gourry picked at his teeth with a piece of straw, "Your mom sure knows how to cook."

Lina laughed, "She has to! She's had to feed me and my sister while we were growing up, not to mention herself and my dad! All of us have the same appetite," She turned to him and winked, "Adding you to the mix didn't make that big of a difference."

"Well…" Gourry glanced over to the sink with a wince, "It apparently made enough of a difference for her to put us on dishes duty…"

Lina sighed, "Yeah, we should get started on those…"

Gourry stood up first, grabbing a mound of plates from the table as he did so, and brought them to the already-full sink. Lina opted to stay in her chair for a few more minutes. She always let Gourry start ahead of her, since she preferred to dry dishes over washing them.

Well, actually she preferred to not do dishes at all, since she was used to eating at inns and restaurants by now, but hey, if it got her a free meal…

Just as Gourry got the water ready, there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it!" Lina chimed cutely, hoping to get even more time off dishes duty.

She got up to answer the door, and was surprised to see Amelia there.

"A… Amelia?" She asked.

"Um… Hello, Lina-san," Amelia laughed nervously, "Sorry to drop in on you unannounced like this… again…"

"That's alright, come on in," She glanced outside, looking for the likely method of travel she took, "Xellos isn't with you?"

"No, I asked him to leave after he dropped me off. I need to speak to you and Gourry-san alone."

"Is something wrong?" Lina asked, closing the door behind her.

Amelia shrugged, "It's… everything's a bit of a mess right now. I need some advice, is all."

Lina lead Amelia over the kitchen counter, handing her a drying cloth, "That's no problem at all. Why don't you help Gourry with the dishes while you tell me all about it?"

"Lina!" Gourry exclaimed, his arms now elbow-deep in soapy water, "That's not very fair! _You're_ supposed to help me with the dishes!"

"It's alright, Gourry-san," Amelia smiled and grabbed the cloth, "Actually, It's nice to have a bit of a distraction."

"So what's up?" Lina asked, sitting back down into her chair and leaning it back onto the two back legs.

"Zelgadis-san is back in Seyruun," Amelia began.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Gourry interrupted.

"I thought so too, because I wanted to see him so much, but... He's only there because of Xellos-san."

"What's up with you and Xellos, anyway?" Lina demanded, "I mean, you two seemed pretty close last time you visited."

Amelia blushed, "He's… well… He's been courting me."

Lina's chair nearly fell backwards,"_Xellos_ has been… Amelia, you know he's just plotting something, you can't trust him!"

"I know that!" She shook her head, "I… He told me what he's plotting already. It has nothing to do with Seyruun. In fact, he's… he's been helping me with some things…"

Lina settled her chair back down to the floor, "A Mazoku's help usually comes at a price…"

"I've thought of all that," Amelia reassured her, "I'm not too worried about it, since I know what he wants. But anyway, he told Zelgadis-san that he's been courting me, which is what prompted him to come back."

"Well of _course_ Zelgadis would come back knowing that," Lina rolled her eyes, "He'd be worried, and would want to protect you, after all."

"Well, yes… But how long is he going to stay? I'm afraid that if I cancel the wedding, he'll just leave again."

Lina nodded, "Seems like something he'd do... Wait, what wedding?!"

"Oh right," Amelia laughed nervously, "Xellos-san and I are sort of engaged to be married…"

"Sort of?!" Lina exclaimed, "How can you be sort of engaged?!"

"Well... It's not official yet, but… I thought it might prompt Zelgadis-san to… to tell me how he feels about me."

"So you agreed," Lina pressed.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time…"

"So you're getting married?" Gourry asked, "Congratulations!"

Lina face-palmed, "Gourry, shut up. Amelia, I think you might have pushed things a bit too far. There are other ways to get Zelgadis to open up. Have you considered, you know, _talking_ to him about it?"

"How could I?" She asked bitterly, "Before Xellos-san stepped in, Zelgadis-san never even visited! If I'm going to wait for him, I want to at least _know_ what he feels about me! If he can't even admit that, then why shouldn't I marry someone else?"

"Marrying someone else is one thing," Lina admitted, "If you'd had to get married for political reasons or something, I'd understand your decision a bit more. But I can't see any political reason for you to marry Xellos, and it's not like you love him, right?"

"I… I don't know…"

"You don't know?" Lina's eyes widened, "You mean there's a possibility you _might_?"

Amelia sighed and leaned onto the counter, "I know that his goals are less than noble, but… I can talk to him. And though he has to leave occasionally to do his duties as a Mazoku, he always _comes back_, and it doesn't take weeks or months or years before he does! I don't have to sit there and wonder if he's even alive, or if he's lying dead in a ditch out in the middle of nowhere!"

_SNAP!_

Amelia blinked as she looked down at the plate she'd been drying. It had snapped in two due to the force she was clinging to it with.

And suddenly, her mask was back up, as she frantically apologized, offered to pay for the plate, and searched for a broom and dustpan to clean up any little bits of ceramic that might have fallen to the ground unnoticed.

When she'd finished, Lina put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down, "Alright then. Here's what I think you should do."

~*~

Zelgadis laid back on his bed exhausted, both mentally and physically. He wouldn't admit to himself that it was good for him. The fight with Xellos really did relieve a lot of stress, especially while attempting to punch him, but now he was stuck repeating everything that was said in his head over and over again. Why did he keep doing this?

He let one of the books on the bed fall to the floor without care. He had brought many back to his room from the library and set them on his desk so he would not need to continuously visit the library for more. He had started reading one while sitting on his bed, but his own thoughts interrupted him so that he only managed to get through one paragraph before giving up.

Every time he started thinking he'd changed, someone would point out that it was only temporary. That he really couldn't just leave anything in the past. Not Rezo, not his human self, not even his own weaknesses that he became a chimera to get rid of.

Xellos, on the other hand, was able to take her anywhere to her heart's content. Be anywhere she needed him to be. All without ever interfering with what duties a Mazoku could have. Zelgadis was a chimera but he was still part human after all, and being in two places at once was still impossible for him.

He raised his hand into the air and cast a lighting spell. Holding the small orb of light, he could feel the little bit of heat radiate off of it. He stared at it in his hand. A small light in the darkness of his room.

If he could just let things go he'd be able to be happy. He'd be able to be with Amelia. This body, it didn't matter to her. His issues with Rezo, she understood them and helped him deal with them. And as for his weaknesses… He clenched his fist and let the light go out… she had been a victim to them.

She had once died in his arms by Phibrizzo's hand, and he had been powerless to stop it. The sparkle of life in her eyes had gone out the same way that the orb had. Taking with it the light and warmth that had kept him out of the darkness.

Now he lay there, cold and alone. A cool breeze came through his window. It was almost cold enough that he could see his breath in the pale moonlight that shone in.

The cold didn't bother him. It was the wetness that came with the snow melting and soaking his robes that made him not like travelling in the winter. He learned to put up with it until he could get to an inn for the night, if he hadn't he'd end up with icicles hanging from the rocks on his face, which made it all the harder to blend in the next town he got to.

But there was no snow yet, and it would still be a while before there would be any. He'd at least have enough time to get to the desert region before winter hit full force if he left now. So why did he stay?

Xellos, although he was a manipulative bastard, still made her happy from his point of view. He was also more then able to protect her. She didn't need him there; he had been replaced.

So what kept him from just leaving? He rolled over and looked over the edge of his bed at his belongings, still in his travel bags. Everything was ready for him, all he had to do was pick them up and go. He didn't even need to return the books he had borrowed from the library. The maids would find them and bring them back.

He reached over and grabbed the top of the bag and could feel the ring box on the top of the pile inside. He hadn't had the right chance to give it to her yet, and with things the way they were, odds are, he never would.

He raised himself to his feet with the bag in hand and suddenly felt light headed. Setting the bag down and sitting on the bed, he laid sideways. Perhaps his confrontation had taken more out of him then he had thought, or maybe his body was telling him to stay. Whatever the reason, Zelgadis couldn't resist shutting his eyes and slipping into unconsciousness.

Xellos phased into the room. His hand was outstretched towards Zelgadis from the sleeping spell he'd just cast, and he lowered it back down with a smirk.

"Poor predictable Zelgadis," Xellos shook his head, "Just because Amelia-san isn't here doesn't mean it's alright to leave without saying 'goodbye'. Perhaps a goodnight's rest will help you rethink your decision."

**~End of Chapter 11~**

**(A/N: AniDragon is off on vacation for this update so the responsibility of updating was passed to the one who never updates. Hope everything is in order for this one, cause things are gonna get hectic mid-August, with the buffer becoming dangerously small and my vacation to an area without wifi just around the corner. But, rest assured, this WILL NOT DIE!!!)**


	12. Chapter 12: Delaying the Inevitable

_(Warnings and Disclaimers same as previous chapter)_

**To Love a Monster**** (part 12)**

**~Delaying the Inevitable~**

**

* * *

by: AniDragon and TheLostZelda**

"Xellos?" Amelia called to the empty room as she attached her mantle. She had stayed the night over at Lina's, but didn't want to impose on her hospitality any longer than she had to. So, while everyone else was in the dining room eating breakfast, she was going to head back to Seyruun.

To her surprise, Xellos appeared in front of her. What was surprising wasn't that he'd come at her call, but that he hadn't opted to show up behind her, as he usually did.

_That's strange_, She thought to herself_, I don't remember him ever appearing directly in front of someone before._

"Are you ready to leave?"

She nodded, "I hope my father didn't worry too much about me."

"Not at all," He dismissively waved a hand, "I told him you were at Lina-san's."

"Ah, I see. Well, let's be on our way. Wouldn't want to miss out on breakfast back at the castle, now, would we?"

She took his extended hand, and felt the now-familiar pull of being teleported. She shut her eyes, still finding the process disorienting after all this time, and opened them up again to find herself and Xellos in her room.

"Thank you," She smiled sheepishly, "I know I've been a bit difficult lately… It's just that things are moving a bit fast… I needed someone else's perspective on things."

"I understand, you've been stressed, after all," He brushed a hand through her hair, "Perhaps you should take some time to relax?"

She looked down, "You might be right… I'll ask my father about maybe lightening my workload a bit. We'll need to anyway, with the wedding to plan."

A look of mild surprise came over Xellos's face, "Oh, so you've decided not to cancel?" he cupped her cheek with the hand that had been in her hair, "I'm glad."

She flushed, "Well… I have to admit that I considered it… And I'm leaving that option open. But… I'm not ready to just give up on… I mean, I know that what we have isn't exactly a normal relationship. And I still love Zelgadis-san, despite everything. I want to give him a chance, but I want to give you a chance, too. Does… does that make any sense? Or am I just messed up and selfish?"

"Of course you're messed up and selfish. But whoever said that that's a bad thing?" He leaned closer, and she felt his breath tickle her face, "You're being true to your feelings. To be completely honest, I'm surprised you've let me get this close."

She laughed, "Me too, actually. I… I thought that I wanted to be with Zelgadis-san. I still think that. But now… Now I know that he's not my only option."

Before giving him a chance to reply, Amelia closed the distance between them. It was the first time that she'd really initiated the kiss, and she could tell that she'd surprised him, which she took a bit of pride in.

It took Xellos only a second to get over his surprise and return the kiss. The hand cupping her cheek returned to her hair, while his other arm laced around her waist to bring her closer.

She leaned into his embrace, wanting to loose herself to the feeling of his lips and hands. His touch was like fire, thrilling and dangerous, and yet she desired it. Though there was a definite line that she didn't want to cross before the wedding night, she wanted to continue to feel this way, even for a little bit.

It was her turn to be surprised when he was the one to pull away after a few minutes. It seemed to her as if something had caught his attention, but she couldn't be sure what.

"As much as I'm enjoying this, we're already late for breakfast. Perhaps we should head down?" He suggested.

She knew that there was something he wasn't telling her, and had half a mind to press him for information, but her thoughts were quite frazzled at the moment. So instead she just nodded and let him lead her out into the hallway.

~*~

Zelgadis woke up and felt refreshed.

"I must have been tired after all…" He mumbled. He looked over himself and sighed. It's not like he woke up with bed head, his wire hair made sure of that, and his clothes were fine the way they were, no need to delay by changing them.

He rose from his bed, grabbing his bag as he did so, and glanced out the window. It was well passed sunrise. Had he slept that long? He imagined that everyone was down eating breakfast. Had Amelia returned yet? If so, she would be in the dining hall with everyone else. With Xellos. If she wasn't back… Well, then this would be easier.

Either way, he was pretty sure he could get out of the castle without running into her. He was being a coward, and he knew it, but what choice did he have at this point? No matter what he did, he was being blocked. Just like with his cure.

He began walking towards the door, then paused with his hand on the door handle.

His cure that probably didn't even exist. A cure that even Rezo himself didn't know, and that every chimerical researcher he'd ever spoken to said wouldn't be discovered anytime this century.

He shook his head. He couldn't just give up. Not after all this time. If he gave up now, then all those years of searching would have been a waste.

But… it wasn't like he had any leads right now, which meant he'd have to start his search over in a new area.

_Maybe I just need to stand still for a while, and let it find me._

That's what he'd told Amelia before, but it was wishful thinking. Nothing happened to those who stood still and waited for things to fall into their lap.

Besides, he was wasting time. If he didn't hurry, breakfast would finish, and then he'd run the risk of bumping into Amelia or Phil, either one of which would make him feel guilty for his decision.

He slung his travel bag over his shoulder, stepped out into the hallway, and glanced around. Good, it was empty, just as he'd hoped.

He hurriedly made his way down the hall. His steps faltered slightly when Amelia's bedroom door came into sight, and he felt a presence on the other side.

_Huh?_

Before he could backtrack, the door to her room opened, and she and Xellos stepped out.

He froze in his tracks, taking in the sight. Though Xellos looked as calm and in control as he always did, Amelia was flushed. Her hair was dishevelled and messy, and her lips were red and slightly swollen. It didn't take a genius to figure out why.

_When did she get back?_ He couldn't help but wonder. Had they just returned that morning? Or had they spent the night together?

That last thought made his blood boil, but seeing as Amelia didn't look distressed, it was clear that Xellos hadn't done anything against her will. It confirmed his earlier thoughts that for some crazy reason, the bastard made her happy.

In the few seconds it took him to make this assessment, Amelia glanced over and noticed him. An embarrassed look crossed her face when she realized how she must have looked.

"You're back," Was all Zelgadis managed to say.

She nodded, and her expression hardened when she noticed the travel bag over his shoulder.

"You're leaving," She countered.

It wasn't a question. It didn't need to be a question, because it was painfully obvious.

He glanced down at the floor, "I'm… only getting in the way here, clearly."

Amelia looked like she wanted to argue with him, but kept her mouth shut. It was only after a moment that she choked out, "So you decided to sneak out without saying goodbye?"

"Amelia, I…" He sighed, "I didn't want to make this any harder on you. It's clear that my presence here is just confusing you."

She didn't have anything to say to that.

Xellos, on the other hand, apparently did.

"What a shame," He said, shrugging, "I was hoping you'd agree to be my best man."

Both Amelia and Zelgadis looked at him as if he'd sprouted a second head.

"Why in the world would I agree to that?" Zelgadis exclaimed.

"Well," Xellos mused, "I don't suppose saying 'to keep you off the trail of the Claire Bible' will do any good, so how about this?"

He vanished from sight, and a reappeared at Zelgadis's shoulder. His voice was barely a whisper as he continued.

"If you're going to give up without trying, I can hardly consider this a victory. I know you don't trust me, and I know you want her. You should at least try and make this a challenge for me. Also…" He glanced over at Amelia, and Zelgadis followed his gaze, "You wouldn't want to make her cry again, would you?"

Amelia was looking at the two, confused. Though she seemed more surprised than sad right then and there, Zelgadis knew that if he did leave, it would break her heart. He also knew that after that, it would be all over. She wouldn't take him back, cure or no cure.

"Alright, I'll stay," He answered, walking up to Amelia and looking at her in the eyes, "But only if you want me to stay. I… I don't want to be a burden to you. If you want me to leave, then I'll leave. But if you really want me to stay… then I'll stay."

Amelia seemed shocked at his question, "Do you even have to ask? Of course I want you to stay!"

He smiled sheepishly, "Even though I'm a selfish bastard?"

She rolled her eyes, "Zelgadis-san!"

"Well, now that that's settled, how about we go get something to eat?" Xellos piped in.

"Yeah, let's go. Um," He nodded his head towards his bag, "I'd better go put this back in my room, then."

"We'll wait here for you," Amelia stated, as he turned and began to walk back to his door, "So don't even think about sneaking out your window!"

"I wouldn't dare," He called over his shoulder.

When he was out of hearing range, Amelia turned on Xellos, "You _knew_ he was out in the hallway, didn't you?" She accused, "That's why you wanted to stop when you did!"

He raised an eyebrow, "Would you rather I'd have let him leave without giving you a chance to confront him?"

She pouted, "Well, I suppose…"

Zelgadis returned then, travel bag gone, "Alright, let's go."

~*~

When Amelia told Phil that she wanted Dragon Cuisine catering for the wedding, he nearly choked.

"Amelia, dear…" He tried to reason, "I realize that this is a special occasion, but Dragon Cuisine is expensive, especially if we want enough for all the guests."

"Oh, don't worry," She reassured him, "It would only be for the wedding party. Lina-san insisted on it when I asked her to be maid-of-honour."

"But… Lina-dono can eat as much as all the rest of the guests put together…"

"It's alright," She continued, "We met a Dragon Cuisine chef during our travels! He's a bit eccentric, but he seemed to like us, so I'm sure he'd give us a discount!"

Phil sighed, defeated, "I… I suppose… Though, does that mean you've decided on a date?"

She nodded, "The catering should take the longest, about 6 months. Plus we need to give him time to kill the dragon, and to travel here. We'll give him an extra month for that, to be safe. So, 7 months from now."

Xellos realized then exactly what Lina was planning. Along with getting the dragon feast of her dreams, she was ensuring that there was plenty of time before the wedding for Amelia to change her mind, should she desire it.

He supposed it was a good plan. But it wouldn't work.

Zelgadis had basically proven that morning that he was ready to leave. He was staying now only because he was involved in the wedding. If the wedding were cancelled, he would leave. And now Amelia knew it.

And now that Xellos had his orders, he couldn't afford to let the wedding be cancelled.

**~End of Chapter 12~**

**(A/N: Well, we are officially at the end of our buffer, and TheLostZelda is going away on vacation on Wednesday. We **_**might**_** (key word being 'might') have chapter 13 done before then, and ready to upload by next Friday, but after that we probably won't be able to update again until the end of the month. :( But, bare with us, because we'll definitely be coming back to this fic as soon as we can!)**


	13. Chapter 13: Gone Fishing

_(Warnings and Disclaimers same as previous chapter)_

**To Love a Monster**** (part 13)**

**~Gone Fishing~**

**by: AniDragon and TheLostZelda**

* * *

With catering settled with Phil, it only felt right to Amelia to go and ask the chef herself. As Xellos prepared to teleport her, he turned to Zelgadis.

"Say Zelgadis-san, would you like to come along?"

Zelgadis looked from Amelia, who was hanging off of Xellos's arm, to the Mazoku's outstretched hand. It seemed that Xellos was full of surprised today, "Why should I?"

Xellos grinned even more, "Well, with you looking like his 'dead wife when she was young', I thought you could help sweet talk him into doing the catering."

Zelgadis's jaw dropped, "What?!"

Amelia looked at Xellos, a bit confused, so he explained, "Last time we did skip out on the meal. He might not agree do the wedding after the way we left."

Amelia's eyes widened. She had figured that the poor chef would be thrilled at the idea of catering the wedding. Not just because it was for the Royal family of Seyruun, but also because he might think of it as doing it for his grand daughter that had passed without ever tasting dragon cuisine. The thought never entered her mind that he might pass it up. If he did so, her plan to postpone the wedding without cancelling would be ruined.

"Please Zelgadis-san," Amelia caught his attention, "If he doesn't agree to do it then we'll have to come up with something else. Won't you please come?" The look Amelia gave him was one he could never refuse. It was so desperate, almost like if she let go of Xellos she would fly right into his arms.

Zelgadis heaved a sigh, "Alright, I'll come. Just don't agree for me to be the anchor this time."

He took hold of Xellos's hand and they were off.

~*~

It had been so long since their last encounter that the meal they had helped gather the ingredients for would have been ready, served, and rotted by this time. There was still that small pang of guilt that they never got to have any, but hopefully this would make up for it.

They entered the restaurant and no sooner had they sat down that Ashford himself came to their table. "You have a lot of nerve coming back here, after ditching that Dragon Cuisine without paying for it!"

"We're sorry, Ashford-san, but we were in the middle of an important journey," Amelia explained, getting up from her seat, "We couldn't have stayed, even though we wanted to. If we had known the length of time prior to ordering, we wouldn't have wasted your time and resources."

"Even if that was the case," Ashford scratched his head a little, frustrated, "I had hoped that you would have at least come back to eat the meal. It's not like it could have been that important if you could waste the 2 days it took to catch the dragon."

"Actually, at the time it was very important," Zelgadis stood, getting ahead of himself, before he caught Amelia's gaze, "At least, to me it was."

He looked to the ground with shame, before looking Ashford in the eyes, "If there is anyone to blame for the wasted meal, it would be me. There should be no reason for you to decline their request for you to cater their wedding."

Ashford returned the chimera's glare with one of his own, challengingly, trying to get him to back down. However, the determination behind those eyes was no match for him.

"You said it was for a wedding?" He asked, trying to stall his defeat.

"Yes," Amelia nodded, "A royal wedding in Seyruun, at that, so you can be sure that this time, you'll be paid in full."

"A royal wedding?" Ashford whistled, impressed, "I didn't know you were royalty, miss. Well, I guess, seeing as it is for the royal house of Seyruun, I don't really have that much of a choice. Besides, with you looking like my dearly departed granddaughter, I'm starting to feel scolded from beyond the grave."

Zelgadis massaged the bridge of his nose as Xellos began to chuckle softly behind Amelia. For her part, Amelia was using the 'smile and nod' tactic that one often uses when one doesn't want to call someone else out on a lie.

However, it seemed that Zelgadis had had enough of these stories, "Ashford, I'd like for you to refrain using such a tall tale to break the tension."

"Whatever do you mean?" Ashford tilted his head to the side a little confused, "You can't possibly be talking about her resemblance to my granddaughter, or your own resemblance to my wife?"

Zelgadis flushed red, "Yes, that. In my case in particular, it would be quite impossible for us to share any visual similarities, seeing as I'm not even completely human."

"I don't know about that, Zelgadis-san," Xellos chimed in, seeing a perfect opportunity to annoy the poor unfortunate soul, "The ladies of Famille sure seemed to think you looked enough like a female to totally disregard your ailment."

Zelgadis was about to start an argument with Xellos when Ashford brought forth his locket and opened it, "I guess it's about time I show you, seeing as you two bare such a resemblance to my family."

Zelgadis's jaw dropped and Amelia almost lost herself. True to his word, the image of Ashford's family was just as he described. Lina and Gourry where standing like a couple with a female version of Zelgadis in front of them placing her hands on Amelia's shoulders.

"Well, that's interesting," Zelgadis finally said, coming out of his shock.

Once the slightly embarrassing evidence was presented, there wasn't much else to do but start to discuss the catering. It was decided that the three of them would help with the catching of a lake dragon while they where there and that they would have soldiers sent to transport the dragon to the castle for cooking.

"Alrighty then," Ashford started, "First, I'll get together my dragon hunting gear…"

"No, first you get the anchor," Zelgadis interrupted Ashford, "We are _not_ going to have a repeat of last time."

~*~

"This looks like a good spot, time to drop anchor!" Ashford called. Zelgadis sighed as he walked to the side of the boat.

"Cheer up, Zelgadis-san, at least _you_ aren't the anchor this time," Amelia called from her post next to the giant reel.

Zelgadis lifted and threw the anchor overboard. She was right, there was nothing really to groan about. He smiled slightly as he went to her side; Xellos had left to fetch Lina and Gourry to help and it was now only Ashford and the two of them on the boat.

With Ashford busy watching for the dragon, Amelia and Zelgadis took this time to relax.

"Do you think we'll get it faster this time?" Zelgadis asked, leaning on the side railing of the boat.

"I hope not," Amelia leaned her back against the rail beside Zelgadis and looked to the sky, "The faster we get it the sooner Ashford can start on the wedding feast."

Zelgadis raised an eyebrow, "Sounds like someone isn't looking forward to getting married." He smirked when she shot him a surprised look.

Amelia lowered her gaze to the deck and sighed, "I just hope that everything works out according to plan. The last thing I want is…" she caught herself before revealing too much.

"The last thing you want is?" Zelgadis pressed, intrigued.

"It's nothing," She shook her head, "Just nerves, I guess."

He moved closer and leaned towards her, "You're lying."

She flushed and looked away from him, but then her eyes widened and she gasped, "The dragon!"

Zelgadis sensed it a split-second later, but both were still unprepared for the side of the boat they were on to tilt downwards as the dragon scraped against the opposite side.

Though Zelgadis had a good grip on the rail, Amelia still had her back to it, and pitched backwards with a cry of alarm.

"Amelia!" Zelgadis reached for her outstretched arm, barely catching her fingers. The water splashing around them made the grip uncomfortably unstable, and she started slipping almost immediately.

Before he lost his grip, Zelgadis reached down with his other arm to grab her wrist, "I've got you!"

She breathed a sigh of relieve but Zelgadis couldn't do the same, as the dragon began circling around the boat. As the boat rocked, Amelia's feet and legs occasionally submerged underwater.

It wasn't long before the dragon noticed her, but Zelgadis was quicker. He pulled her up just seconds before its jaws snapped the area she was just in. He lost his footing as the boat rocked again, and fell backwards, pulling her down with him.

Zelgadis sat up with Amelia on top of him as the dragon rose out of the water and cast a shadow over the boat. It roared, unhappy that its target had been taken from him, and lunged it's head towards the duo on deck. Zelgadis didn't think twice as he rolled with Amelia to the side, dodging the attack, and protecting her from the close range debris sent flying by the beast's head colliding with the deck.

Zelgadis raised himself to his hands and knees quickly. The dragon lifted it's head from the hole, and while turning to face Zelgadis and Amelia, now intent on getting both and not just one of them as a meal, Zelgadis fired a Flare Arrow into it's eyes, burning and blinding it.

With a roar of pain it retreated hastily, splashing a cold wave of mist over the whole boat.

Zelgadis didn't notice the sudden shower as the adrenaline subsided and he lowered his still outstretched hand back onto the deck. He heaved a sigh of relief, letting his head drop slowly. Opening his eyes, Zelgadis smirked at Amelia, who had just been treated like a rag doll through the whole ordeal, "You ok?"

Amelia stared up at Zelgadis. "Yeah… I think I'm fine…" Zelgadis, realizing their position, got up and off of Amelia before offering her a hand up. She took the hand, still a little out of it from the encounter, and was helped to her feet, holding her dizzy aching head.

"YOU IDIOT!"

Zelgadis felt a ping of annoyance as the conveniently absent chef made his presence known by hitting him in the back of the head. Where the hell had he been all that time? Searching for his equipment that Zelgadis had lugged on board all by himself while he discussed a battle plan with Amelia? Or was he just so senile that he didn't notice the dragon towering over his hunting company?

"Using magic? Do you have any…"

"I didn't care!" Zelgadis turned and yelled at Ashford with a twitch in his eye. He lowered his voice down to a rather pissed off growl, "Every time I step foot on your damn boat I end up being made a fool of or nearly being eaten by dragons. I've had it! I'm not going to stand by and be yelled at for protecting Amelia just because I used magic to do it."

Ashford didn't reply, only looked somewhere behind Zelgadis's shoulder.

Zelgadis turned to follow his gaze and noticed Amelia was blushing. When he realized what he'd said, a slight redness came onto his own face, and he turned back to Ashford, determined to finish his rant, "Next time that dragon comes, _you_ fight it off. But _just_ in case you need me, I'll be at the back of the boat."

With a frustrated sigh, he headed off to his announced destination.

Amelia continued to stare at Zelgadis as he stopped and levitated over the stairs that lead to the deck above the cabin. It was then that Ashford slapped a hand on her shoulder. "Wow, are you sure you're marrying the right guy?"

Amelia shifted her gaze to Ashford, who had recovered smiling from the conflict.

"I'm still wondering that myself, to be honest," She admitted sheepishly.

Ashford walked away, leaving Amelia staring at the spot where Zelgadis had just been.

She had felt it then, although she was light-headed from the violent tossing: his strong arms protecting her. After the dragon had fled, as he knelt on top of her, damp and smiling as the water drops in his hair glistened in the sunlight, he'd looked at her and…

It was like the year where he was gone had never happened.

She was at a loss for words at how familiar it all was, as if she was reliving the past. A past were they were always at each other's sides, protecting each other. A past were she loved him and she had thought that he loved her.

Maybe that was his way of showing her he cared, by protecting her. She sighed and went to her post by the reel, "If only I didn't have to risk my life just to be in his arms…"

**~End of Chapter 13~**

**(A/N: So, that chapter title? Is actually what TheLostZelda is doing right now. Lol. The next chapter is on definite hold, since there's going to be another action scene, and those are her specialty. (AniDragon can't write action worth beans))**


	14. 14: Laundry, Cooking, and Other Chores

_(Warnings and Disclaimers same as previous chapter)_

**To Love a Monster**** (part 14)**

**Laundry, Cooking, and Other Chores~**

**by: AniDragon and TheLostZelda**

Zelgadis rested his elbows on the rail, letting his head hang in aggravation. It had been so long since he and Amelia had been flung into battle that he had enjoyed saving her and acting the gallant hero.

However, he wasn't able to enjoy it for as long as he would have liked. It was one of those moments where he could have said anything to her without fear, anything at all, but now it was over. It would probably be the last time he would be able to put his life on the line for her without things getting awkward. After the wedding, that would be Xellos's job.

He pulled his hair in frustration at the thought. "Where the hell is that bastard, anyway?"

~*~

"Lina…" Gourry looked at the small sorceress through the pile of laundry he was holding, "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Lina leaned back against the wall, "What are you talking about? Sis told us to get the laundry done, so we're doing it. I figured even you would have learned to not get on her bad side, by now."

"That's not what I meant," Gourry nudged his head to point to the corner of the room, "I meant, is _that there_ a good idea?"

Lina gazed over to where he was pointing. There was a tub of hot water in the corner, where Xellos was on duty cleaning the laundry.

"Well, why not? He's getting it done, isn't he?"

Gourry went over to dump the last batch of cloths into the "dirty" pile, and then picked up the basket of clean, wet clothing from next to Xellos, "But he's a guest, isn't he? You shouldn't make guests work like that."

"Look, he wants us to go help with the dragon, right?" Lina argued as she opened the door that led to the balcony where the clothesline was, "And he's a lot faster than me, so it makes sense that he does the work instead. After all, _he's_ the one who wants to hurry."

"Lina-san does have a point," Xellos piped up.

"Even so…" Gourry shook his head as he squeezed through the door and put the cloths basket down on the balcony, "You should at least do _some_ of the work."

"Hey, it's not _my_ fault I'm too short to reach the clothesline!"

Even as she said that, though, she started handing him the cloths so that he at least didn't have to bend down to get it.

"I have to say, though, I'm surprised at you, Lina," Gourry commented as he worked, "I figured, given the choice between doing laundry and fighting a dragon, you'd have gone for the dragon."

"You again seemed to have missed the threat that is my big sis," She rolled her eyes, but then leaned closer to him, "Besides, by keeping Xellos busy here, we're giving Zelgadis and Amelia some alone time, aren't we? Let's face it, they probably don't _really_ need our help to catch the lake dragon."

Gourry frowned, "I don't know… It was pretty hard to catch last time."

"Yeah, but last time the weather wasn't so cold," Lina explained, even though she knew that Gourry wouldn't get it, "It's not winter yet, but lake dragons will have already started preparing for it. They hibernate, you know. So they're not going to be very aggressive this time of year, because their metabolisms are slowing down."

"I see," Gourry said, clearly not understanding a word.

"It might put on a show to try and look aggressive," Lina continued, "To try and scare away predators, but it'll be a lot more docile, and will wear down a lot faster. Plus, Zel and Amelia will have Ashford with them, who does this for a living. They'll be fine."

Gourry shrugged, "If you say so…"

~*~

Zelgadis looked out at the water, hands still in his bent hair. He stared at the waves the boat created, allowing his gaze to penetrate the surface to look deeper. After a moment he heard a splash, followed by the sight of a rope being pulled towards the bottom.

_That must be the anchor line_, he thought absentmindedly as a large pale shape caught his eye. It looked like it was knotted to the rope, and drifted almost like a flag, it's pale color and purple underside reminded him a little of....

"AMELIA!" He realized, yelling and getting ready to jump overboard in an attempt to free the cape from the line.

"What is it, Zelgadis-san?" came a small voice behind him. He almost fell as he turned, startled, toward the confused girl.

"Your cape..." He pointed out, looking to her and then the water. Amelia looked over the railing at her cape flowing under the lake's surface.

"Oh, Ashford and I decided that we should try using a lure like last time, and since the dragon was so attracted to my cape before...why? Were you worried it was me?"

Zelgadis quickly collected himself and turned away from her with a slight blush, "No, I just..."

Amelia smiled, "I guess it works, then."

The boat rocked lightly and the sound of wooden gears spinning wild was heard.

"Hang on!" Ashford yelled from the lower deck, plunging the wooden stopper into the reel to stop the line. There was a sudden jolt and the boat went speeding along the lake, towed behind the dragon.

"Apparently," Zelgadis replied to Amelia, holding onto the railing with her, making sure she didn't lose her grip.

The boat was headed toward land at top speed. Quickly Amelia and Zelgadis Raywinged off, both of them reaching for and gripping the other's hand, leaving Ashford to deal with the dragon, as he had done before.

They watched as he clung to the dragon's neck, the boat already destroyed and scattered in the trees, and within seconds it was over. They had their dragon. They looked to each other happily, and glanced down at their hands, sadly letting go.

The dragon was defeated, and their mission was a success. Now, like all the times before, they had to separate, and go their own ways.

"Hey Amelia!" They heard a familiar voice from the beach below.

They looked down and there were Lina and Gourry, waving up to them and smiling, accompanied by a very late Xellos. Amelia and Zelgadis glanced at each other, making eye contact for a split second before Amelia broke their gaze and slowly flew down to greet their friends.

"Hey, you two started the party without us," Lina joked, putting Amelia in a headlock and messing up her hair.

"Lina-san, Xellos left 3 hours ago, what took you guys so long?" Amelia laughed as she wiggled out of the headlock.

Lina laughed a bit nervously, "Well, you know… Sis insisted that I finish all my chores before leaving…"

"Actually," Gourry piped up, "The only one Luna insisted we do was the laundry. But for some reason Lina decided that we needed to do a whole bunch of other chores, too…"

"Can it, Jelly-fish brain!"

Amelia raised an eyebrow and gave Lina a hard look, "Lina-san… I think I know what your plot was."

"Y… You do?" Lina looked away, avoiding eye-contact.

"You were taking advantage of the fact that Xellos-san was there, and made _him_ do all the chores so you wouldn't have to do them later, am I right?"

Lina actually seemed a bit relieved at the accusation, "Oh. Well, yeah, I guess there was that, too."

"That was very un-just of you, Lina-san!" Amelia continued, not catching on that there was a second reason.

"Um, yeah, I guess it was," She quickly stepped on Gourry's foot when she saw him open his mouth to say something else, "But hey, no harm done, right? You guys managed to get the dragon without our help!"

"Yeah, I guess we did… Or at least, Ashford-san did," Amelia shrugged, "I feel kind of bad for dragging you all the way out here for nothing, though…"

"Hey, it's no biggy," Lina grinned, "You know that I'm always up for a change of scenery."

"Speaking of which," Amelia continued, "Why don't you and Gourry-san come back to the castle with us? Since you're part of the wedding party, you could help with the planning."

Lina's grin widened considerably, "Really? So we can stay at the castle until then? For 7 months, with free lodging and meals?"

"Um… Yes… Although when you put it that way…" Amelia frowned, rethinking if this was really such a good idea.

"Oh, Amelia, you're so nice!" Lina interrupted before she could change her mind, "Of course we'll come with you! And we'll be sure to do our part to help with the wedding!"

_Or at least_, Lina thought to herself, _We'll do our part to help Zel get his act together._

~*~

"Um… sir?"

Seyruun Castle's head chef turned to the source of the voice. It was the younger chef who had heard the ominous warning not too long ago about the wedding. At first, the kitchen staff had dismissed it as stress, but then there had been an announcement. The princess was indeed getting married. And SHE was in the wedding party.

"I know you're worried, but it's taken care of," The head chef reassured him, "We just got a notice that someone else is taking care of the catering for the wedding party. Some dragon cuisine chef. He's being escorted here as we speak."

"Only one chef?" He asked in surprise, "For… for _her_?"

"It's none of our business," The head chef bit his lip, "Though it's cruel of me to say so… I certainly don't envy this man… But still… Better him than us, if _she_'s involved."

"Yes. I… I suppose you're right…"

The young chef hesitantly went back to his post, while the head chef turned back to his work. The wedding announcement had made the entire staff paranoid, and it was getting harder and harder for him to keep them focused on their job. It was a blessing when he'd heard that they wouldn't be doing the catering.

"Excuse me."

Sighing with annoyance, he once again turned, this time to the entrance where a man was standing. He was dressed as a priest, and it took a moment for the head chef to recognise him as Xellos, the princess's fiancé.

"Yes, what is it?"

Xellos smiled, "The castle will be entertaining some new guests for the next few months, so his highness Prince Phillionel wanted to let you know that your workload will be increasing significantly. I trust there won't be a problem?"

"Of course not," The head chef said confidently, "I imagine the new guests will be the wedding planners?"

"Yes, them and the wedding party, who've just arrived a few minutes ago," Xellos confirmed.

"I see then… wait, you said the wedding party?"

The chef could have sworn that he saw Xellos's grin widen, but he must have imagined it. No one could be_ that_ cruel, "Yes, and the wedding party will of course be including Lina Inverse-san and Gourry Gabriev-san. So as I said— oh, my."

Several loud noises echoed through the kitchen as utensils, pots, and pans were dropped, followed by the sobs of many of the chefs and dishwashers. The head chef even fainted, falling to the ground at the Mazoku's feat.

Xellos was surprised, but pleased at the reaction. That had gone better then he'd expected.

**~End of Chapter 14~**

**(A/N: We're alive! :P AniDragon now has to balance a job, plus she got sick a few times, while TheLostZelda is back in school. So yeah, we've been pretty busy, and have an especially hard time coordinating out schedules. We have a couple of buffer chapters written up, and then we'll be taking another hiatus while AniDragon participates in NaNoWriMo. Updates will be a bit more sporadic, since Friday isn't working for us. So we'll just update when we can find time to both be online.)**


	15. Chapter 15: Invitations

_(Warnings and Disclaimers same as previous chapter)_

**To Love a Monster**** (part 15)**

**~Invitations to Attend, to Act, and to Listen~**

**by: AniDragon and TheLostZelda**

Filia cradled the small bundle of black feathers and scales in her arms, a soft smile on her face. Val was now a little over 3 months old, and becoming a handful. Still, when he was sleeping like this, he was as adorable as ever.

She tip-toed to his crib and gently lowered him in. As soon as she pulled away, his amber eyes blinked open to look at her.

"Go back to sleep, Val," She told him, "Mommy won't be going far."

He let out a yawn, and his paws stretched out in front of him.

"That's right," She laughed, "Sleepy dragons need their rest."

As his eyes once again fluttered shut, Filia left the room, leaving the door open a crack so that she could hear him should he need her. As she settled at her pottery wheel, she heard a laugh coming from his room.

"Oh, Val, can't you just sleep and let mommy work?" She muttered to herself before getting up to go check on him. Though she was thankful that he at least wasn't crying, she needed to see what was keeping him up.

She opened the door and jumped when she saw a familiar purple haired priest leaning over Val's crib, watching the infant curiously.

"Xellos!" She hissed, "What are you doing here? Get away from him!"

He glanced over to her, raising an eyebrow, "I haven't hurt him, and I don't plan to. Now, care to try that greeting a bit more politely?"

She crossed her arms, "I'll be polite when _you_ do the polite thing and come in through the front door."

"But that's not as fun," He pouted, "I prefer surprise visits."

Filia sighed, and her eyebrow twitched, "Alright, fine, but… Val needs to sleep. If you're going to start tormenting me again, can you at least do it where you won't keep him up?"

"That sounds fair," Xellos nodded, and walked passed Filia into the adjacent room.

She once again closed the door, leaving it open a crack, and followed him to a nearby table where he sat down.

"You still haven't told me why you're here," She demanded.

"I'm here to deliver this," He held up an envelope, branded with the seal of Seyruun.

Filia reached over to take it, but then hesitated. Knowing the nature of Mazoku, he might have placed a curse on it or something, "What is it?"

He raised an eyebrow, "Suspicious as ever, I see. Fine, I'll let you know. It's an invitation. No curses or traps, just a normal invitation, on a normal piece of paper, in a normal envelope."

She took the envelope, but didn't open it, yet, "An invitation to what?"

As soon as she'd taken the envelope, Xellos reached over for the tea kettle that was sitting on the table, and a clean cup. He poured himself some tea, and took a sip.

"Xellos?"

"This is a bit cold," He commented.

"Namagomi!" Her tail stuck up, "An invitation to _what_?"

He put the teacup down and smiled brightly, "To my wedding."

It took a few seconds for this to sink in for Filia. When it did, she nearly fell over.

"Your _what_?" She nearly shrieked, remembering only at the last second to keep her voice down so as to not wake Val, "You… You're getting _married_?"

"Is that so surprising?" He asked before putting his hand on the teacup and muttering a quick spell to warm it. He then brought it up to his mouth and took another sip, and nodded in satisfaction.

"But… but you're a Mazoku!" She cried, baffled, "Do Mazoku even _have_ weddings?"

"Not amongst ourselves, no," He answered, "There's no use for it. But it's not unheard of for a Mazoku to marry a human."

This was too much for Filia. She walked to the table and sat down hard, "You're marrying a _human._ But… But why? And why in Seyruun of all places? I didn't even think it was possible for you to set foot in a kingdom so full of white magic!"

"I've been to Seyruun before," He informed her, "The shape of the city does weaken me a bit, but not enough for me to be concerned about. As for _why_ the wedding is in Seyruun… Well, it would be rude to marry the princess and not have the wedding in her home country."

"The princess… You're not… marrying _Amelia_?" It was just one shock after another for the poor dragoness.

"Of course Amelia," Xellos laughed, "After all, the only other princess of Seyruun is missing, so it's not as if I could have been referring to her."

"What kind of mind control spell have you put her under?" Filia demanded, jumping to the only logical conclusion she could think of, "There's some sort of Mazoku plot to this, I know it!"

"She accepted under her own free will, and I wasn't under any orders to ask for her hand," He waved away her accusations, "The reasons I'm marrying her are none of your concern beyond that, but I will say that my intentions are _not_ to bring any harm to Seyruun."

Filia still didn't trust his words. He'd phrased things far too conveniently, and she knew he was a master at twisting the truth. But as she pondered how he might have placed a loophole in what he'd told her, he finished his tea and stood up.

"In any case, the details are in that invitation, there. I have a few other deliveries to make – dear Amelia-san insisted that I personally deliver all the invitations going to outside of Seyruun, since I'd be much faster than any mail cart. So, I'd best be off."

He was gone before Filia had a chance to reply. Her mind still numb from the shock, she opened up the envelope.

There it was, right there in print. _You are cordially invited to the marriage of Xellos Metalium and Princess Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun._ The rest of the paper gave the details of where and when it would be.

Filia didn't know what to think about this. Though she hadn't seen Xellos since Val had hatched, he used to come see her often, usually to torment her. At the time she used to complain about it, but she'd actually gotten used to his regular visits.

She'd thought that maybe there was something between… Well, apparently she'd been wrong. And though she hated to admit it, she was actually _sad_ that she was wrong.

"Stupid Xellos…" She muttered.

~*~

At the castle, preparations were well on their way. As the months crept closer and closer to the day of the wedding, Zelgadis seemed to become more and more withdrawn. He did the bare minimum as far as helping out went, spending the rest of his time in the library, hoping to find that elusive loophole to cancel the whole thing.

It came as no surprise to him, when there was only a month and a half left before the wedding, that Lina confronted him during his research.

"Zel, you need to smarten up!" She exclaimed, slamming her hand on the table.

Zelgadis sighed and put his book down, "What do you want?"

"You know damn well what I want!" She huffed and crossed her arms, "Amelia's getting married in less than two months, and all you're doing is shutting yourself in this library and brooding!"

"I'm not brooding," He defended himself, "I'm doing research."

Lina let out a frustrated sigh and leaned over the table, glaring at him, "Look, I know your cure's important to you, but I know that Amelia is, too!"

"This _isn't_ about my cure!" He stood up and showed her the cover of one of the books, "Do you really think I'd try to find my cure in books about Seyruun's laws and politics?"

This caught Lina's attention, and she grinned slyly, "Seyruun's laws? You're trying to find a loophole to stop the wedding, aren't you?"

"As a matter of fact, I am," He confirmed, "But so far I've got nothing. Marriage laws used to be quite strict, but when Phil decided he wanted to marry a commoner, he convinced the king to change them. Now the royal family can pretty much marry whoever they want."

Lina grabbed a chair and sat down, "Well, hey, if you want to stop the wedding so much, I've got a suggestion for you. Why don't you just tell Amelia how you feel about her?"

Zelgadis followed her lead and sat back down, as well, "That won't work."

"Well, why not? You love her, don't you?"

"I...." He heaved a sigh, resting his head in his hands, "It's complicated."

Lina shot him a glare.

"Well, if she really wanted love, then why would Xellos interest her?" He asked, baffled.

Lina rolled her eyes at him, "Zel, you clearly don't understand women very well. Sometimes we do things that don't necessarily make sense."

"Well, this seems to be a clear example of that…" He muttered.

"Yeah, it is," She said, "More than you think. Amelia might have accepted Xellos's advances at first out of loneliness, but once you came back into the picture, she stayed with him to make you jealous. She wants _you_, not him!"

Of course, Lina didn't mention that Amelia was starting to have legitimate feelings for Xellos. But that would only complicate things. And Lina was positive that if Zel made the right move, Amelia would accept him.

"You're wrong," Zelgadis shook his head, "What she wants right now is someone who's going to stay here. She wants a husband who won't wander off for months at a time. And maybe she wants me in that role… And maybe I want that, someday, too. But right now? I… No. It's not something I can do. I'm not ready for that kind of commitment."

"Why not?" She demanded, "Because you're a chimera? You know that excuse is getting old."

"Hey, it's getting old for me, too, you know!"

"So get over it," Lina threw her hands up in the air, "She already has!"

Zelgadis opened his mouth but then shut it and slammed his fist on the table, hating how he'd been losing a lot recently when it came to this topic.

"Now quit stalling, already, and actually do something!" Lina stood up and stormed off, leaving Zel to think about what she'd said.

As she shut the library door behind her, Gourry waved at her from the end of the hallway, "So, how did it go?"

"Well, he's still an idiot about the whole thing," She sighed, "But not as much as I thought. He does want to stop the wedding, he's just going about it the wrong way."

"I don't get why this has to be so complicated," Gourry scratched his head, "I always thought that marriage was a pretty simple thing. If you love someone, you marry them."

"Well, they have to admit it, first," Lina explained, "But those two are so stubborn that they can't do that, despite how obvious it is."

She realized as she spoke how hypocritical she was being. After all, she still hadn't told Gourry how she felt about him, even though she suspected that he felt the same way. After all, he _did_ say that he wanted to travel with her and protect her forever. And he trusted her completely, usually with no questions asked. And when he looked at her…

She blushed brightly. She really needed to control her train of thoughts.

"Lina, why are you blushing?"

"Shut up!" She shouted, flustered, "Let's just go find Amelia, and see if we can talk sense into her, instead."

He shrugged, "Alright, if you say so."

~*~

Amelia sat in her office, thinking. Xellos had left her alone for the time being, which was a rare occurrence in the resent weeks. She was thinking back on Zelgadis's behaviour. When he had first arrived he had spent so much time trying to be with her, but after the episode with the dragon, he had all but avoided her, spending countless nights in the library.

"Did he find a lead on his cure in there?" she wondered half-heartedly aloud. It wouldn't be unusual for him to spend time looking for his cure, but with the wedding date coming so near, wasn't he at all interested in stopping it?

The door suddenly slammed open and Lina burst into the room, "Amelia, we need to talk."

A guard peaked around the doorframe nervously, "Your highness? I told her to wait outside, but…"

"It's alright," Amelia informed the guard. Why the guards even bothered trying to stop Lina from coming and going anywhere anymore was a mystery.

"What is it, Lina-san?" She turned her attention to her friend.

"I've been keeping quiet about this for the past few months, since I wanted to see how things would run their course without my help," She began, "But with the wedding so close, I can't just sit and watch this disaster keep happening."

"Lina-san, with all due respect, this isn't your decision to make."

"I know that!" Lina fumed, "But as your friend, it's my job to call you out on how stupid this whole thing is. I might not be able to make your decisions for you, but I can damn well give you some advice!"

Amelia sighed and leaned back in her chair, "I suppose that's fair."

"In a perfect world, the best solution would be to just cancel the wedding and ask Zelgadis to stay. But unfortunately, the both of you are far too stubborn for that."

"I could say the same for you and Gourry-san," Amelia retorted, pleased to see the blush creep up on Lina's face, for what she didn't know was the second time that day.

"We're not talking about me right now!" She exclaimed, "_I'm_ not about to marry someone else entirely! Amelia, you love Zelgadis. It's obvious to everyone, not to mention you told me yourself that you do. Zel might not admit it out loud, but he loves you, too. You can't just throw that away."

"I've given him chances," Amelia shook her head, "Plenty of them! But where did that end up? With him holed up in the library looking for his cure, like he always has!"

Lina grinned, "Actually, I'm glad you brought that up. Do you want to know what he's _actually_ researching in there?"

Amelia jaw dropped slightly. This whole time she'd assumed he was just researching his cure, but now Lina was implying that that wasn't the case at all.

"Go on," she said.

**~End of part 15~**

**(A/N: TheLostZelda: Next time on To Love a Monster....It's a secret! Muhahaha!**

**AniDragon: …I really like Lina in this chapter. XD She's very "no nonsense", which is awesome. Lina makes everything better… Or, at least she does when she isn't making things worst… But in this case, we're pretty sure it's "better".**

**TheLostZelda: Reviewers will get cookies! The Pillsbury pumpkin shaped ones!**

**AniDragon: Or at least… They will once we figure out how to send solid objects through the internet… Do we need sleep?**

**TheLostZelda: Yes. Yes we do. Or sugar, whichever helps.)**


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